The ideal version, I think, would be a way to invest a tiny amount, so you could diversify even a small (under $10k) investment. Even better, it could make it easier for a consultant to take stock in a small company as compensation, and could even make it plausible to grant stock in return for informal favors, introductions, etc.

I wonder if operating a shell corporation, with stock "accounts" controlled by individual members, would be a workable legal hack to achieve this. It would be fun to try and see.