I have heard of loans either secured by or "based on" shares of privately-held startups. I have no idea how common this is -- probably pretty uncommon. See e.g

I have heard of loans either secured by or "based on" shares of privately-held startups. I have no idea how common this is -- probably pretty uncommon. See e.g. https://www.svb.com/private-bank/founder-liquidity/ https://www.svb.com/private-bank/founder-liquidity/ and http://www.founderscircle.com/services/ http://www.founderscircle.com/services/