Octopart.com is a search engine for electronic and industrial parts headquartered in La Jolla, CA.
It aggregates parts from distributors and manufacturers online, making them easy to search for and purchase.
[1] Octopart was created by three physics grad-school dropouts, Andres Morey, Sam Wurzel, and Harish Agarwal, in 2007.
[2] After coming up with the idea for the site and leaving graduate school, Morey and Wurzel worked with Paul Graham and Jessica Livingston's Y Combinator.
[3] Octopart works with large distributors.