Vishal Garg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1977 (age 47–48) |
| Nationality | Indian-American |
| Occupation | entrepreneur |
| Known for | CEO of Better.com co-founder of MyRichUncle |
| Spouse | Sarita James |
| Website | www |
Vishal Garg (born 1977 or 1978) [1] is an Indian-American entrepreneur. He is the chief executive officer of mortgage lending company Better.com and previously co-founded MyRichUncle, focused on student loans.
Born in India, Garg moved to the Queens borough of New York City when he was seven, and grew up in Forest Hills. [2] While attending Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, he resold books, CliffsNotes study guides, and thrift store clothes at a profit. Beginning in 1995 he studied finance and international business in the Stern School of Business at New York University [3] while working as a runner and entry clerk for Salomon Brothers [2] and as a trader for VZB Partners, a hedge fund. [3] After graduation, he worked in the Investment Banking Department at Morgan Stanley as an analyst. [3]
Garg co-founded a student finance company in 2000 that became the online student loan provider MyRichUncle, which grew to employ 300 people and became the second largest private student lender in the United States. [4] The company became a public company in 2005 but filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7, Title 11, United States Code during the 2008 financial crisis. [5]
In 2009, Garg co-founded special servicing company EIFC. Beginning in August 2009, Garg jointly led a new asset-backed securities team at Aram Global, an asset recovery firm. [6]
In 2013, Garg co-founded Future Finance, a provider of student loans to students in the UK, with Brian Norton. [7]
In 2014, he founded Climb Credit, targeted at US programs with relatively lower costs and higher graduate employment rates, with Zander Rafael and Amit Sinha. [8]
Also in 2014, after a frustrating experience trying to obtain a mortgage, Garg founded Better.com, an online mortgage broker. [9] [10] Garg acquired Avex Funding of California to provide the new company with licenses and an operating platform to originate mortgages online. [10] The company became a public company via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company in 2023. [11]
Garg's treatment of employees has attracted negative publicity. In November 2020, he was quoted in an e-mail in which he chided some of them as "a bunch of DUMB DOLPHINS". [12] In December 2021, a video was widely disseminated of him abruptly firing 900 people in the United States and India through a videotelephony call conducted on December 2nd, 2021. [13] [12] [14] [15] [16] Following public outrage, Garg apologized and wrote in a letter to employees that he had "failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected". [17] [18] He remained CEO and in January 2022 the company conducted a review of its internal culture. [19] A video subsequently emerged of Garg blaming himself for "overhir[ing]", [20] and a second round of layoffs took place in March 2022 after Garg's return, with the company later also offering 60-day severance packages to employees who voluntarily resigned. [21]
Garg lives in Manhattan with his wife, Sarita James, [22] and three children. [23]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he donated $90,000 to Stuyvesant High School, his alma mater, to help students prepare for remote education. He also launched a partnership with the Fund for Public Schools in NYC, that raised nearly $2 million to purchase Chromebooks, iPads, Wi-Fi hotspots, books, and uniforms for New York City public school students from low-income backgrounds. [24] The project supported over 30,000 students learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Mr. Garg won the Golden Pegleg award from Stuyvesant High School Alumni Association for his charitable works related to economically disadvantaged children. [25]
Garg has made donations to political candidates and organizations including the Serve America PAC supporting veterans and several members of the Democratic Party. [26]