Different terms for a searcher with SaaS industry experience?

I founded and bootstrapped a B2B SaaS product. I ran it for over 7 years, developed new products (some successful, some not) and built the team. It consistently grew until I sold it last year for a 7-figure exit.

I'm now looking to acquire product(s) in the same industry. I don't want to do it alone since I think the right partners can multiply my success this time, both through support and leverage to acquire larger businesses.

The traditional search funder model is interesting since, frankly, spending two years full-time on a self-funded search that doesn't acquire anything is not an option.

I have people in my network who have expressed interest in investing in products I acquire with me as the operator. We haven't discussed funding the search portion.

From what I've read, the search funder model caters mostly to MBA grads. With my experience and connections, I feel the search and operations parts are de-risked somewhat.

I'm interested to hear from others, both searchers and investors, who've used the model (or have found it not to work) for those who have operational experience. Specifically, how is the searcher perceived and is this reflected in different terms?