DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ First the bubbly, then the layoffs. Inside Better's latest round of job cuts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

(Excluding Aurora's stock price, shares of the Nasdaq-listed Better Home & Finance are down more than 59% from the opening day.) In an emailed statement, Schaefer said that the company plans to replace at least some of the laid-off employees. Employees were given 30 days of pay, and up to three months of company-provided COBRA coverage, according to two laid-off employees. The mortgage industry has been hit hard by rising rates, leading to revenue declines and layoffs across the industry. Both former employees told Insider that they were optimistic that the cash infusion might offer some relief after a year of what felt like constant layoffs.

Persons: Vishal Garg, Kevin Ryan, Jessica Schaefer, Schaefer, Jay Powell, Garg, Slack Organizations: Staff, Aurora Acquisition Corp, Aurora, Nasdaq, Finance, Employees Locations: India

The company hit the headlines in December 2021 after it laid off 900 employees via Zoom, and has since seen its profit dented by high mortgage rates that have dampened demand for home loans. "Here is an example of the exact wrong company at the wrong time - SPACs are hated and anything related to mortgage lending is hated at the moment," said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital. U.S. mortgage rates have extended their surge as government bond yields rally. The popular 30-year fixed rate hit its highest level since 2000 last week, causing mortgage applications to hit a 28-year low. Amid ultra-low interest rates, the SPAC market exploded in 2021, but has since sputtered amid rising interest rates, high redemption rates and increased regulatory scrutiny.

Persons: SoftBank, Vishal Garg, Thomas Hayes, Bansari Mayur, Hannah Lang, Sriraj Kalluvila, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Home, Finance, Aurora, Corp, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Great, Thomson Locations: Great Hill, Bengaluru, Washington

☆ The CEO best known for firing 900 staff on a Zoom call now says he's 'worked really, really hard' to be 'more empathetic' and to treat people with 'kindness'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Better.com CEO Vishal Garg is known for firing hundreds of staff on a Zoom call in 2021. Garg now says he has "worked really, really hard" to be a kinder boss. AdvertisementAdvertisementBetter.com CEO Vishal Garg says he's "worked really, really hard" to be a kinder boss after firing over 900 people on a Zoom call. Garg is best known for laying off hundreds of Better.com staff via a brutal Zoom call in 2021. "I think I was very mission-centric, customer centric, and really, really focused on what it took to drive growth," Garg added.

Persons: Vishal Garg, Garg, he's, I've, TechCrunch, Better.com Organizations: Morning, Nasdaq, Aurora Acquisition Corp

☆ Shares of Better.com — whose CEO fired 900 workers on a Zoom call — slumped as much as 95% on their first day of trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of online mortgage lender Better.com slumped as much as 95% after its Nasdaq debut. They fell so quickly that trading was halted four times in the first 30 minutes. Better.com CEO Vishal Garg brutally laid off 900 employees via a Zoom call in 2021. Shares of the Softbank-backed online mortgage lender — which had merged with blank-check company Aurora Acquisition Corp. — plunged at the opening bell. Better.com's disastrous debut on the Nasdaq followed dramatic turns at the digital mortgage company since December 2021 when CEO Vishal Garg brutally laid off 900 employees on a Zoom call.

Persons: Better.com, Vishal Garg, Insider's Alex Nicoll, Better.com's, Fortune Organizations: Nasdaq, Service, & Finance, Aurora Acquisition Corp, —, Aurora Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Better.com CEO Vishal Garg on going public: We're disrupting the U.S. housing market
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBetter.com CEO Vishal Garg on going public: We're disrupting the U.S. housing marketVishal Garg, Better.com founder & CEO, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the company going public on the Nasdaq via a SPAC merger with Aurora Acquisition Corp., the mortgage lender's rough road to debut amidst layoffs, losses and SEC probe, the mortgage business at large, and more.

Persons: Vishal Garg Organizations: Nasdaq, Aurora Acquisition Corp, SEC

Aug 24 (Reuters) - Shares in online mortgage lender Better's (BETR.O) new public listing plummeted on Thursday as investors fretted over record-high mortgage rates. In the interim, roughly 95% of Aurora shareholders redeemed their holdings, leaving the trust account with just about $24 million at the end of June from about $283 million. Aurora went public in March 2021. Better is going public as U.S. mortgage rates continue to surge, with the popular 30-year fixed rate last week hitting the highest level since December 2000, helping drive mortgage applications to a 28-year low, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday. Reporting by Hannah Lang and Lance Tupper in Washington; Editing by Mark Porter and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aurora, Vishal Garg, Hannah Lang, Lance Tupper, Mark Porter, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Nasdaq, Aurora Acquisition Corp, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Aurora, refinancings, Mortgage Bankers Association, Thomson Locations: SoftBank, Washington

☆ The CEO who brutally fired hundreds of the people on Zoom is taking his startup public in a move that could make or break him
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Vishal Garg is taking Better, a mortgage startup, public through a long-delayed SPAC deal. Read what he said about making strategic acquisitions and the millions in company loans that stand to be forgiven. But CEO Vishal Garg, known for brutally laying off hundreds of employees via Zoom, insists he has a plan. One former employee told Insider that the move seems like a "Hail Mary," both for Garg personally and for the business more broadly. Here is what Garg said about his vision for the company and how he will spend the money Better receives from the IPO.

Persons: Vishal Garg, Garg, SPACs, Mary, refinancings, it's, SoftBank, indemnifying, —, It'll Organizations: & Finance, Aurora Acquisition Corp, Nasdaq, World Trade Center, Federal Reserve, Silicon, Better, Mortgage, SEC, Scotsman, Aurora, Insider Locations: Garg, refinancings, Queens , NY

The Nasdaq logo is displayed at the Nasdaq Market site in Times Square in New York City, U.S., December 3, 2021. U.S. home builder confidence weakened in August, as mortgage rates and stubbornly high housing prices discouraged prospective buyers. Better enjoyed huge growth during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic when mortgage rates cratered, notching more than $850 million in revenue in 2020, filings show. When interest rates fall, Better expects huge demand for cash-out refinancings, which it says it will be able to deliver in one day. Earlier this year, Better.com launched a one-day mortgage product, allowing customers to get pre-approved, lock in a rate and get a mortgage commitment letter within 24 hours.

Persons: Vishal Garg, Garg, Better.com, Hannah Lang, Michelle Price, Mark Potter Organizations: Nasdaq, REUTERS, Federal, refinancings, Aurora Acquisition Corp, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Better, Zoom, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, SoftBank, Aurora, Washington

Search resuls for: "Aurora Acquisition Corp"

8 mentions found