Better Founder Vishal Garg Demands Reinstatement as $300 Million Lender's Stock Drops 45%
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 18
Better Founder Vishal Garg Demands Reinstatement as $300 Million Lender's Stock Drops 45%
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 18
Summary
Monday's letter to Better's board demanded Vishal Garg be restored as CEO after his August 3 firing, with the founder saying he hired a lawyer to win back the job.
Garg told CNN that Daniel Lewis — added to the board just a week before the ouster — "hoodwinked" directors into removing him and then installing him as interim CEO.
Better's shares have fallen 45% since Lewis took over, while Garg argues the company was nearing a turnaround with loan volume tripled and 2026 sales on pace for $200 million.
That recovery case comes after a steep decline: Better's valuation slid from $8 billion during the pandemic boom to about $300 million, and sales fell from $1.5 billion in 2021 to $70 million in 2023.
Garg's fight for reinstatement revives scrutiny of the founder, who became a national symbol of corporate excess after firing 900 employees on a 2021 Zoom call.