What’s Cooler than Being Cool?

What’s it mean to be Cool? For some people, it means flying down a mountain on skis with a giant fluorescent mohawk. For others, it means calm under pressure, to be as cool as a cucumber. No matter how you define it, we’re thrilled to announce that RetroRate has been named a 2025 Cool Company by Connect!

Out of 200 applicants, 25 were chosen to represent the local innovation economy. We’re in good company too — we join the hallowed halls of local San Diego unicorns Drata and Seismic, as well as my last company, Approved, a back-to-back Cool Company in 2016 and 2017. Now -that’s- Retro.

At RetroRate, we’re on a mission to unlock homeownership in a market paralyzed by high interest rates. We build software for real estate professionals like agents, loan officers, and their clients to find and transact on homes with loans that can be transferred to a new buyer. In other words, a new homebuyer can scoop up a home loan from back when rates were in the 2.5 to 4% range, saving a boatload in monthly expenses and interest over the life of a loan.

We have to agree — that’s pretty cool indeed.

As transplants from the Bay Area, we’re building the company in the heart of downtown San Diego, where the sun shines a little brighter, and we can hear the baseball fans cheering at the ballpark next door. It’s an honor to be COOL certified, and we’re excited to carry the torch for this fantastic community of builders.

Check out the full list of 2025 Cool Companies and meet the incredible startups shaping the future: https://connect.org/class-of-2025-cool-companies/