From my research, it does seem like prior experience does play a role in successful searches.

Speaking as a searcher here. I think it depends on the industry. I'm a retired military officer and making a career change. So I have a very limited choice of industries where I could claim to have experience. But I do have a lot of leadership, management, and other soft skills that translates well to a broad range of applications. So I look for companies and industries where those skills will help. For instance, I have no clue about the oil and gas industry. But I have an engineering degree and have been a director of aircraft maintenance, so I feel confident in my ability to handle an HVAC company or even a manufacturing company.

Another consideration is if the company has key personnel who will remain in place. This means that I can get away with less specific experience. However, I still wouldn't want to stay too far away from an industry that I was at least familiar with.

Many if not most experienced investors (my opinion) will not back a venture where the operator is new to the industry unless he/she has a successful track record of running and growing a company in the past.