Admitting to a Career Mistake... Next Steps?

I declined a spot in a BB S&T summer program for a position at a local boutique investment management firm (15-20bln AUM + long-only + fundamental value). I was sold a bill of goods that have yet to materialize (dragged through the mud for 18+ months), i.e. opportunity to work on new products (long-short, global, etc.). The individual I have been working with to launch a HF product comes from a Top 3 HF in Europe and has the credentials/track to successfully manage said product. Yet, we are having trouble getting firm buy-in. As you can probably tell, I have become rather disgruntled at work these days.

What would be the best approach for me to get out of a well-known AM firm in Canada (unknown elsewhere) and into IBD -> HF or straight to HF? Has anyone else made a similar career transition and how long did the process take? Top recruiters for these type of transitions? I am willing to move to wherever a good opportunity materializes.

By way of background, I graduated from undergrad a year and a half ago, have been working on our long-only equity product while putting in extra time for a potential launch (tasks include: assist in managing a "paper portfolio - proof of concept for the old geezers here" - idea generation, trading analysis, vet prime brokers, create market materials, risk analysis, etc.). I also did a summer at a BB in research.

Cheers.