The CEO who fired 900 people on Zoom just before Christmas wants his job back

Former Better Home & Finance CEO Seeks to Reclaim Leadership After Surprise Ouster

Earthguardiansonline.com – Vishal Garg is mounting a campaign to regain control of Better Home & Finance, the mortgage technology company he helped build over the past decade. The former chief executive believes he was unfairly removed from his position by Daniel Lewis, a hedge fund manager who recently joined the board and quickly maneuvered to become CEO himself.

Garg, who became widely known for conducting mass layoffs of 900 employees during a company Zoom call just before the 2021 holiday season, says he was dismissed on August 3 while the company was on the verge of a significant turnaround. According to Garg, Lewis had been building influence within the organization for months, eventually convincing fellow board members that Garg wasn’t pushing hard enough to deliver results.

A Company Through the Storm

Better Home & Finance has navigated considerable turbulence during Garg’s tenure. The company experienced extraordinary growth during the pandemic-era refinancing boom, when historically low mortgage rates below 3 percent drove unprecedented demand. At that peak, Better achieved an impressive $8 billion valuation.

Today, the landscape has shifted dramatically. Mortgage rates are approaching 7 percent, and the company’s refinancing engine has largely stalled. Better’s market capitalization now stands at approximately $300 million, representing a substantial decline from its pandemic highs.

The company’s challenges extended beyond market conditions. Garg took a leave of absence following the widely publicized Zoom layoff incident, which damaged the company’s reputation. Additional headwinds included a whistleblower lawsuit that was eventually dropped, an SEC investigation that yielded no significant findings, and a problematic 2023 SPAC merger that caused the stock to plummet by 93 percent. Years of accumulating losses tested Garg’s leadership, making his continued presence as CEO something of a surprise.

The Turnaround That Never Happened

Garg maintains that he was positioned to deliver meaningful results when he was removed. After the core refinancing business contracted, annual sales dropped from $1.5 billion in 2021 to just $70 million in 2023. However, Garg projects that 2026 sales will reach $200 million, driven by a strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence.

The company invested heavily in training AI models capable of processing mortgage applications rapidly—a process that traditionally required dozens of employees working for several days. This technological transformation, combined with a partnership with Neo Home Loans, reportedly doubled productivity and cut loan origination costs by half.

Impressed by these developments, major technology companies including Intuit, Coinbase, and OpenAI formed partnerships with Better to leverage its mortgage infrastructure. The company also cultivated a robust home equity line of credit business, diversifying its revenue streams beyond traditional refinancing.

“We’re winning. We’ve tripled loan volume. We’re close to profitability,” Garg said. “We were at the 5-yard line after taking the ball all the way down the field from the other side.”

Lewis’s Rapid Ascent

Daniel Lewis, a hedge fund manager with a mixed history of investment successes, approached Garg approximately six months ago with proposals for cost reduction and profitability improvements. While Garg acknowledged that Lewis’s cost-saving ideas had merit, he criticized the hedge fund manager’s innovation strategy as lacking substance.

“It’s so much easier when we’re this close for someone to come in and say that they could have done better,” Garg observed.

Lewis was formally added to the board on July 27, 2026. Within a week, he had persuaded other directors to remove Garg and assume the CEO position himself. On August 4, Lewis posted a message on X acknowledging Garg’s foundational role in the company while asserting his own authority.

“There was never a $BETR without @vishal_better. That demands respect,” Lewis wrote.

Investors Rally Behind Garg

Market participants appear to side with the former CEO. Better’s stock has declined 45 percent since Lewis assumed control, even though the shares had already fallen more than 16 percent during 2026 prior to Garg’s removal announcement.

During the week following Garg’s departure, numerous investors contacted him expressing concern and requesting that he reconsider his decision to step aside. Garg retained Class B shares carrying enhanced voting rights, supplemented by commitments from several early-stage investors who remain loyal to his vision.

Armed with this voting power, Garg has engaged Alex Spiro, a prominent partner at Quinn Emanuel, to represent his interests. On Monday, he submitted a formal letter to the board demanding his reinstatement as CEO.

Garg has offered to work for a nominal salary of $1 per year until the company achieves profitability, after which he would transition out of the executive role. He acknowledged that his decade-long leadership has not been flawless but emphasized that execution issues should not overshadow the company’s progress.

“It’s an acknowledgment that I’ve been doing this for 10 years, but execution hasn’t been perfect,” Garg said. “I hope it gets resolved.”

Whether Garg will successfully reclaim his position remains to be seen, but his combination of voting power, investor support, and demonstrated results gives him a credible path to victory. The outcome could reshape not only Better’s leadership but also its strategic direction in an increasingly competitive mortgage technology market.