How to return to PE/HF after failing to launch a vehicle of your own

A year ago I took a risk and joined a few guys trying to launch a publicly traded vehicle. We all had decent backgrounds, had soft-circled ~$50m in initial investment + had a bank that believed they could bring another ~$75-100m to the table. The transaction involved taking over a microcrap for their listing on a large exchange (NYSE/NASDAQ) and that turned out to be... a lot harder than anticipated. We've gotten to the altar with 4 different shells but each fell short at the last possible moment for different reasons (CEOs getting cold feat/straight up incompetence, 3rd party outbids, delisting risk, etc.).

I've learned a ton between getting to pitch investors and getting to see banking from the client's perspective, but with the macro environment having turned sour since Q4 last year (particularly in our target sector) I've now got my doubts we'll be able to bring our little dream to fruition. We received a TON of positive feedback from investors (types who typically don't mince words) and the constant response we're getting in lieu of indications has been "things are tough right now/macro is bad/this sector isn't as hot as it was 6mos ago, etc." A lot of wait and see-type stuff. Banker enthusiasm has dropped to now where they think it would be unlikely they can bring more than another ~$25m or so thanks to the bad hits the sector has taken/where investor sentiment is on deals in general lately (barring this suddenly becoming a hot new AI co).  

We just had our latest shell back out after their CEO decided to do some really silly stuff (2 of their larger investors are actively putting together a lawsuit) and to be honest, I'm losing hope. I'm now a year into this having made very little money over the course it. Every time we get close to finishing something seems to fall out of the sky and hit us with a 10 yard penalty. 

I've had recruiters knocking on my door and recently had 2 that piqued my interest - 1 for a MSD $B PE in my sector and 1 for a LSD $B L/S SM HF. Recruiters are obviously asking for my resume so my question to WSO - how do I explain this gap after my previous PE stint? 

• Do I outline the thesis behind our vehicle and all the stuff we've done through the raise?
• Highlight the investors we did sign/get indications from?
• I can't exactly name any of the shells we were working w/ because they're all public and the knowledge that they're looking for alternatives to come in could constitute MNPI couldn't it?
• How can I talk about this w/o looking like the starry-eyed mid-level who tried to venture out on his own, got sour grapes, and is now looking to return to the mothership? (even though I will readily admit that's more or less what's happening...)

I don't know where to start and would greatly appreciate any insight someone could provide.