Where have they had success and what seems to be the environment to them?

Downtown environment, 1 block off a college campus.

You might want to separate the market into "type selection" and "environment/neighborhood selection".

That's good that you found a great team around you to tackle this new environment. 

But keep in mind, the best influencers are the ones that are able to influence others without others even realizing it.Here’s a list of all the people that I influence when it comes to real estate investing:my bankers through keeping enough in reserves and having enough cash flow to lead them to want to give me loans on my properties.The people who work for me by being nice to them, encouraging them, providing a good work environment, paying them, and helping them get their own real estate properties.My business partners by trying to be fair, making sure that they benefit from the partnership, and by helping them reach their goals all while helping me reach mine.My tenants I incentivizing them to take care of all the smaller issues that come up in the home by discounting the rent.Sellers by finding out how much they need to get out of the sale of their home in order to help them solve the problem that they’re in, then we work together to make it a win-win situation.Title companies by sending them previously closed settlement statements explaining how to put the rehab credit on to the settlement statement.Wholesalers and realtors by telling them that I own 200 properties and I am a serious buyer and  that I will buy the property if I am able to buy a property A certain way or at a certain price, and that I will close on the deal as long as it is according to how they presented it. 

It depends on your risk threshold, what kind of deals you can get, and your opinion on the future of interest rates.Personally, I prefer home equity loans (fixed interest, fixed term) in this environment as I have ample deal flow.

What advice does anyone have for someone who's enthusiastic but at the same time clueless in his new environment

Understood the current market and interest rate environment may be difficult to navigate. 

Tenant agrees and acknowledges that the Premises to be occupied by Tenant shall be designated as a smoke-free living environment.

I agree  on the above but as an investor in this raising rate environment, asset-based (aka DSCR loans) are the way to go irregardless of Partnership or Solo venture purchases.