Fantas

Relic Spotter Incorporated

In March 2012, Rebecca Park identified an excellent business opportunity while she was a firstyear MBA student at the Wharton School. She read a story in the Wharton Journal about an MBA student who tripped while jogging in Fairmount Park and found an ancient gold coin in the underbrush. It was an old Viking coin that was appraised at $77,500. The speculation was that Philadelphia could be the Vinland of old Viking myths, with the possibility that many more Viking relics could be found in the park. She realized that she could set up a profitable business that rented out portable Metal Detectors to people that wanted to search Fairmount Park for more Viking relics. Park also had the idea of stocking her store with “sundries,” such as water bottles and energy bars, that she could sell at a huge mark-up to renters that realize they have forgotten such things for their expedition into the park. Park prepared a business plan and approached a fellow student, Jay Girard, who she believed would invest in this new venture (and who had a substantial trust fund as one of the Philadelphia Girards). Due to his myriad of other investments, and his heavy course load, Girard agreed to invest as a silent partner and allow Park to run the business. On April 1, 2012, Girard decided to invest $200,000 and Park put up $50,000 to purchase a total of 25,000 shares in the new company, which was called Relic Spotter Incorporated. The par value of the shares was $1.00 (1).1 Lacking the funds for her initial investment, Park borrowed the $50,000 from the Imperial Bank of Philadelphia on April 1, using her parent’s house as collateral (2). On April 2, Park hired a lawyer to have the business incorporated. Because this was a fairly simple organization, the legal fees were only $3,900 (3). Then, Park set out to find a building near the park to house the business. She found an abandoned pizza parlor at the intersection of Parkside Ave and Girard Ave that she was able...