Not true. They don't own the shares, but you owe them a percentage of the upside, plus the money you borrowed to exercise and pay taxes. Not a bad deal if you

Not true. They don't own the shares, but you owe them a percentage of the upside, plus the money you borrowed to exercise and pay taxes. Not a bad deal if you're talking about a huge amount of money, and if you were in a questionable company like Square, etc.