Fair enough. You're probably right. I haven't tried it, after all.

I was actually thinking in terms of personal loans, which have less onerous collateral requirements since the debtor can't simply walk away from the loan, but I guess I am making assumptions about the creditworthiness of the founders in that instance, too.

It does kind of beggar belief that a couple of smart middle class kids with an obviously working business plan couldn't get someone to loan them a few grand. I guess you can't count on it, though. Point ceded.