Vishal Garg is the found and chief executive officer of Better Mortgage, an online mortgage lender that he founded in 2016. The goal from the onset was to re-engineer the mortgage process after Garg and his wife, while pursuing their first mortgage, had a subpar experience due to “inefficient processes, outdated technology, and general frustration”. Better Mortgage is headquartered in New York City and its services include mortgage, real estate, title and homeowners insurance.

In December 2021, Garg temporarily stepped down from his position as CEO after laying off 900 Better.com employees over a video call that ultimately leaked and went viral. It wasn’t the first time that the Better Mortgage CEO made negative headlines for his leadership style… In 2020, he made news for calling his employees “a bunch of dumb dolphins”. During a deposition in 2013, Garg threatened a former business partner that he would “staple him against a wall and burn him alive”.

Moving forward, Better Mortgage is set to go public with a $7.7 billion valuation after backing from Softbank.