Jeff - I think this is a nuanced question. If a traditional searcher picks their cap table correctly, different investors will serve best in different phases of the search. To add even more nuance, each searcher will have different needs, not to mention personality fit, and so one searcher's favorite investor might never even make another searcher's radar, but it doesn't mean either investor is any better or worse than the other. I would be more specific about what you want in an investor at each phase of the search (or at least think you'll want) and probe a couple of dozen current and past searchers in an actual conversation.

Finally, rating systems are great at steering you clear of things like terrible restaurants, but any potential poor actors in this community would be outed pretty quickly, no rating system needed; so I wouldn't worry about needing to steer clear of anyone (if that was even one of your concerns in asking this question).

Appreciate your thoughts Robert! I've got a number of investors high on my list based on my own research (primarily through calls w/ current and former searchers as you recommended), however I thought I'd throw it out to the community to find investors not currently on my radar. I know there are a couple of "quieter" or more niche investors who I haven't run into yet, and I wanted my eyes opened to that group as well. And thus far, I've been pleasantly surprised by the response. 3-4 investors were some folks "favorites", and I hadn't even heard of them yet. Needless to say, I'm now reaching out to those folks as well just to see if there is a good fit.

The search before the search! ;)