This happens a lot, sometimes even 3-4 times per week.

And while our selection rate is very low, I pay attention to each and every pitch in our effort to find the real gems, because, in my view, a profitable private business is one of the best assets you can hold.

Unlike stocks, the value of a private business (outside of the 'tech' sector) is generally based on what really counts: profit.

Private businesses can do well in both inflation AND deflation; and they aren't subject to the whims of central bankers.

It's a tremendous asset class to own, and our team spends a lot of time sniffing out the best deals. Hers was not one of them.

I listened patiently as she went through her pitch, and at the end she offered us a special opportunity to buy 20% of her business for $250,000.

There was just one problem.

She didn't have a business. There were no employees, no team, no product, no prototype, no design, no revenue, no testing, no website, no assets.

She didn't even have a company or a bank account.

She had nothing but an idea.