Who We Are

Better is a team of curious and creative problem solvers based in San Mateo, California. We are transparent, collaborative, and come from multidisciplinary backgrounds that allows us to use our expertise in talent and design to create meaningful programs for companies of all shapes and sizes.

Better was founded to help leaders build teams and workplaces that people love. We believe that the human approach to talent doesn’t exist anymore, and we’re here to change that. We believe in building the physical and emotional environments that foster trust between an employer and an employee. Above all, we believe in building a community of people who care about their work.

Our Team

Derek Ling

Talent Advisor

Derek has spent the last 18 years building companies through the People function in a myriad of industries including biotech, genomics, the sharing economy, consumer tech, and hospitality. He spent 3 years in recruiting leadership roles at Yahoo during the Marissa Mayer transformation hiring 7,000 people globally. At Helix, he was the Head of Talent building their HR and Recruiting functions from scratch growing the company from 28 to 200 over the course of 2 years. Since founding Better Talent Studio, Derek has worked with a myriad of venture backed startups in the health-tech, fintech, medical device, and people-tech backed by firms like A16Z, Khosla Ventures, Warburg Pincus, Illumina Ventures, Founders Fund, and SciFi VC.

He’s passionate about working with leaders who believe creating a great place starts with strong management which is a critical component in building mission-driven organizations. Outside of work, you’ll find Derek spending time with his family, cycling in Mt. Tam, trekking in places like Nepal, and making friends in the oceans below.