Integration Engineer, Cofactr

A key step forward was Cofactr's acquisition of Cogbase, which added more than 450,000 North American suppliers to its network. That expansion means the company can now help with both standard electronic components and custom-made hardware. It also speeds up what used to be a slow, manual process of finding and vetting suppliers, a major advantage as US manufacturers look to strengthen domestic supply chains.

The company has also made its platform free to start, removing upfront software feeds. So customers pay only for the parts and services they use, making it easier for smaller of fast-growing hardware teams to adopt. And the bigger vision is simple: make procurement something engineers don't have to think about, so they can focus on building products instead of chasing suppliers.