Meet Matthew Haber
Matthew Haber is the CEO and Co-founder of Cofactr
Founding Cofactr: Theater Designs that Inspired an Electronics Supply Chain Revolution
Matthew Haber’s professional journey was anything but a straight line. What started as a career in theater design has evolved into solving some of the most costly supply chain challenges for leading aerospace and defense companies. But, if you know Matt, this transition isn’t all that surprising. As he puts it, he’s “not picky” about what industry he’s working in as long as the challenge is exciting and he has the autonomy to “go deep on it and explore.” What he is picky about is who he collaborates with.
“You try to find collaborators with complementary skill sets and shared values,” he says. “Then, you keep doubling down on your partnership with them — and eventually find a puzzle that piques both of your interests.”
So, when Matthew met Phillip Gulley, that’s precisely what he did. Unknowingly, the custom technology they created for the stage gave the duo an early taste of the electronics manufacturing process they’d eventually optimize. It also opened up more opportunities beyond the theater, ultimately leading to Cofactr.
Solving supply chain issues with lessons from theater design
For more than half their careers, Matthew and Phil tackled innovative technological challenges, accruing a portfolio of diverse customers along the way. The duo’s first major project together was a large, complex entertainment attraction for The Walking Dead. “It felt literally like you were inside a 30-minute episode,” Matthew says.
They designed the experience from beginning to end, using holographic displays and trackers that made zombies pop out as people walked through the exhibit.
They’ve also:
- Built high-tech mechanisms for household names like Dell and Google
- Designed large-scale interactive experiences with leading consumer brands like Conde Nast, Sony, and Tiffany & Co.
- Crafted high-tech components and interactive software for self-driving cars with Zoox
- Founded a tech-powered lab for in-world user experiences called BeSide Digital (acquired by MAS An Opus Company)
Despite the diversity of these projects, there was a common denominator: they all required creative manufacturing solutions. This often came with long lead times, unexpected component shortages, and manufacturing errors that required last-minute design changes and costly production delays.
Once Matthew and Phil realized they’d both be interested in solving this frustration, they were fully committed to figuring it out. And Cofactr was born.
Reimagining procurement to bypass supply chain inefficiencies
When Matthew and Phil founded Cofactr, they assumed the solution was to bring the entire manufacturing process in-house. However, that turned out to be an unsustainable workaround. Not only was prototyping and building parts they couldn’t source time-consuming, but seasoned hardware manufacturers were better suited to the job — and it didn’t get to the root of the problem.
Matthew recalls, “We didn’t know whether our suppliers had enough parts or how long it would take them to arrive. We had to find a way to meet clients’ deadlines with effective technology.”
So Matthew and Phil began developing custom software to bypass supply chain inefficiencies, starting with the procurement process. They focused on sourcing global supply chain data on their parts — from part selection and purchase orders to storage and assembly — so they could offer multiple supplier options.
“We could finally monitor the health of our supply chain,” says Matthew. “Having more information and supplier alternatives upfront meant we could always find suitable parts with reasonable lead times.”
Higher sourcing efficiency produced faster turnaround times and even more reliable designs. Their clients quickly took notice, making it abundantly clear where the service demand was across industries. As Matthew and Phil became inundated with procurement support requests, they decided to sell Beside. They spent the next two years working with companies like Google, Crowdstrike, and Zendesk on their technology.
Throughout that time, the supply chain blips never let up. “What do you mean, conglomerates like Google are having the same problems we did when we were making 500 of some tiny, dumb thing?” said Phil.
Then, the global pandemic exacerbated supply chain disruptions, reaffirming a key aspect of Cofactr’s mission: Addressing existing pain points in new and innovative ways to empower those who do the critical work.
Enabling end-to-end supply chain visibility and seamless manufacturing
Matthew and Phil’s time in manufacturing and procurement taught them that no one understands a brand’s frustrations better than the brands themselves. So, the duo decided to let customer needs guide their development process.
One of their first aerospace clients, Stoke Space, helped them realize that compliance-heavy industries lacked supply chain support due to the complicated nature of navigating the compliance required. However, aerospace and defense, among other industries, are “leading indicators of the problems other spaces will experience in terms of supply chain volatility” because they need such deep traceability and insights.
Cofactr began to fill the gaps in those spaces, but the added expertise keeps them ahead of the game across all industries. Today, they partner with hardware innovators in aerospace, defense, MedTech, and robotics to deliver mission-critical hardware on time, every time.
Bridging the Hardware Innovation Gap
Efficient inventory management with advanced software
Beyond refining their initial procurement solution, Matthew and Phil recognized their customers’ need for a more reliable, cost-effective inventory management tool. After managing parts for complex designs early in his career, Matthew knew the precise pain of logistics bottlenecks draining resources from other projects.
Stoke Space was specifically looking for ways to securely manage the components for its reusable rockets without adding more costs or headcount — and they still had to contend with compliance. After outfitting Stoke with software-powered storage and kitting, Cofactr rolled out ITAR registration and compliance features across its entire platform. By prioritizing this need, Cofactr is equipped to support more innovators in the defense and aerospace industries.
As Cofactr grows, they apply valuable insights from every partnership to anticipate customer needs and solve more logistics concerns. Today, Cofactr’s dedicated operations team saves manufacturers valuable time and costs managing their components. Plus, real-time stock data unlocks informed decisions at every production stage to drive effective scale.
One-click procurement for BOMs
In his early days in electronics procurement, Matthew learned that assembling orders for every supplier takes hours. When compounded with unexpected supply-chain disruptions, getting your hands on the necessary components is even more frustrating.
Cofactr helps electronics manufacturers avoid this issue and further disruptions by sourcing all components with a few clicks.
All they have to do is:
- Upload their BOM to Cofactr.
- Review compliance and global supply chain information.
- Create their order and choose appropriate alternatives.
- See the most cost- and time-effective options.
- Purchase parts directly within Cofactr.
This means they’re getting parts to market much faster than before, with far better management along the way. Neros Technologies uses Cofactr’s automated procurement to scale with zero disruptions. Since partnering with Cofactr, Neros has increased production tenfold, saving 16 hours per week on procurement and with minimal lift from their team.
Building a resilient supply chain with Cofactr
Matthew and Phil’s collaboration has turned Cofactr into a leading procurement and inventory management platform, producing impressive results for companies like Amazon, PatchRX, and Stoke Space. These include eliminating procurement errors, streamlining procurement logistics, and dramatically accelerating time to market.
But it’s no longer just the two of them. Their Series A round just closed with $17.2 million in funding led by Bain Capital Ventures, bringing their total to over $23 million. They also have a talented team of 30+ electronics, logistics, and procurement experts to support Cofactr’s mission to transform the supply chain into a competitive advantage.
