How do private investors find and evaluate deals?
Short answer: Joe says his gray market for oil and gas deals depends on trusted local contacts who know the region.
At a private investor panel on Richard C. Wilson's channel, moderator Bill asks Natalie, Patrick, David and Joe how they approach deals.
Natalie on trust
Natalie agrees with the moderator's approach. She says deals and investing are about trust, so she takes time to know the people involved. (at 2:52)
Patrick on portfolio resilience
Patrick says he looks for recession resilience and holdings across markets that aren't correlated. (at 4:44)
David on spreading risk
David recalls his father's advice to put money in at least 10 deals, so a few failures would not cripple an investor. David says he advises people to avoid overconcentration and diversify beyond their usual holdings. (at 5:40)
Joe on local sourcing
Joe says his best deals were usually organically originated through outreach and getting to know people in a region. He says sourcing in a less transparent market takes local contacts whom you know and trust. (at 8:00)
"Doing a deal is about trust. Investing is also about trust."

From Richard's exclusive Billionaires.com interviews
Lessons from Richard C. Wilson's one-on-one interviews, as published on each interview page.
- Binod K. Chaudhary: Never chase a deal out of desperation. Stay cool and look at every part of the deal. Have your advisers and your finance team review it critically. Your counsel should review it too.
- Serg Bell: Success comes from many decisions. He does not see business as one winning bet. He sees it as a long game, like poker or bridge, built on many smart choices over time.
- Tim Draper: Make your customers your sales force. Hotmail put a message at the bottom of the screen inviting people to get free email. It spread to 11 million users.
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Frequently asked questions
How do private investors find and evaluate deals?
Joe says his gray market for oil and gas deals depends on trusted local contacts who know the region.
How does Joe handle a deal that's too large for his group?
Joe says they look for business partners to reduce saturation risk.
Sources
Quotes are copied from the video captions and checked against the transcript. Timestamps link to the moment in the video. General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice.