In all honesty, my concrete advice would be reaching out to other local founders privately and asked what worked for them and what didn't. Note there usually is a lot to these stories that aren't told in public for many reasons.

On top, one thing I regret is not having joined a network of founders and entrepreneurs earlier. These days, I would just ask them and get 2-3 spot-on recommendations with warm intros in a day. We hackers and builders usually scoff at these kind of "elite" networks until we realize building and selling a company is fundamentally a people business, where connections and trust are paramount. Reach out to me on LinkedIn for an intro to the organization I'm in (it's global).

As for the original advice: +100 from my side. Especially if the whole founder round is not experienced, you really want to have a cold blooded veteran on your side. Someone who commands respect by founders, is hired by you guys and is incentivized by getting home a part of the deal. Not only do these brokers have the know-how, they usually have a vast network of interested parties to bring to the table at any time to get a bidding war started and are experienced in navigating the delicate timing of the funnel that is crucial for a success. The differences in outcome I've personally witnessed with and without brokers are night and day, even though I have my own cultural issues with them.