Who knows I may pull the trigger and strike lucky this coming May after getting the hang of the auction process. 

Trying to strike a nice balance.

hope you are able to strike a deal with the owner

It's quite another thing to stand in the batter's box while the umpire is calling strikes and wait for that home run pitch. 

Downside:Some companies, as they become big, may not be able to tend to all their investor clients, especially if your friend is looking for some hand-holding and learning all through the process Your friend wouldn't have the autonomy of capital deployment and what deal and market it will be invested inSince your friend just sold a company, he doesn't strike me as a beach bum and the fact that he already reading a ton of content about MF it looks like he may want a little more.

They need some trial and error, hit some doubles, singles, maybe strike out a few times.

Getting 35% of any appreciation strikes me as low, since they are bearing 100% of the market risk.

I came across this and it strikes me as pretty good. 

Most days you will hit a single, some days you strike out.

Until then, I am going to try to learn as much as I possibly can, so I will be ready to strike as soon as I am able.I'm really excited to begin this journey, and I look forward to building some relationships with more experienced investors as well as other newbies out here on BP!