IB -> Strategic Finance at MF Portco (tech) -> Investing?

Hi everyone,

It's been a long time since I posted on here, so appreciate that this community has grown stronger over the years for all the prospective monkeys out there. I started my career in Energy IB at a BB down in Houston and had hated the culture and the industry down there. Heavy face-time emphasis with little to no real junior camaraderie. I tried to transfer over to TMT within the bank but it wasn't possible and I wasn't really getting any looks from Tech PE firms. Had an interesting strategy and ops role at a unicorn startup that was at the intersection of energy and tech (think EV battery and manufacturing) come up when I was nearing the end of my second analyst year and truly desperate- startup blew up due to a funding round falling through at the last minute and my offer got rescinded. Ended up not going after them legally as I felt like it wasn't worth it for the minimal upside / I already felt like I fucked up enough by leaving my stable banking job for something that imploded before I even started. 

6 months of unemployment later and I land a fully remote strategic finance job at a technology portco for a MF PE firm (we are a unicorn startup 11 years old). I always wanted to be in tech so I was happy to be working in SaaS. I currently live in NYC and my job is more of a strategy / FP&A type role- I've learned a lot about strategic modeling for operational initiatives and packaging / pricing of software, cohort and retention analysis, LTV CAC, and how to influence decision making for go-to market solutions / features using modeling and data. I've also learned about the more vanilla FP&A work (board reporting, monthly close, budgeting). After being here for around the 2 year mark (PE fund is trying to exit but having difficulty), I'm interested in moving towards something a little more stimulating. I don't think I can handle the crazy hours of banking anymore, but something a little more high pressure with higher comp would be ideal (Strategic finance generally pays pretty low). I want to go towards the investing route, hoping that my strategic finance role for a portco could come in handy as I have a lot more operational knowledge on how tech businesses are actually run compared to when I was banking (atleast for SaaS PLG type businesses). However, it's been 2 years since I really touched a deal process beyond helping to run a search for my current firm and engaging with a few banks (most of that was handled by our CFO and probably PE firm besides the random diligence and data requests I would help with). Couldn't find a buyer, and I don't think there's going to be an exit anytime soon (in the next year or so). 

Is it still possible for me to recruit for a MM PE firm that does tech transactions or even a Growth Equity firm? Am I better off gunning for VC considering it's been awhile since my last true deal process? I really don't want to have to go back to banking and go through all that bullshit again, but I do feel like I might've fucked up my opportunity the first go-around being that I was young, dumb, and trying to escape at all costs without realizing the opportunities I could have had. I still do a fair bit of modeling and willing to grind to brush up on technicals and LBO mechanics. Trying to also avoid the MBA route considering the costs. I don't know if I'll be in investing long term, but find that it's a skillset that people really value from a career perspective. Strategic finance exit opps feel a bit limited despite the CFO route (quite rare and probably can't be relied upon). Appreciate all thoughts and the help here!