What's saturated.
- System of Record
- State-centric architecture
- Enterprise records
Distribution, trust, switching costs still matter. The position doesn't.
Michael Cantow is the founder of CustomerNode, the execution layer for multi-stage B2B deals. An MIT-trained engineer (B.S. EECS 2022, MEng in AI 2023) based in New York City, Michael previously led ThoughtLine at the MIT Media Lab — a multi-sided platform for audiotherapy research — taught Intro to Machine Learning at MIT (6.390), interned at Teamworthy Ventures, and led astrophysics and space research at the MIT Kavli Institute on the NASA TESS and NICER missions. Before MIT he grew up in Mahwah, NJ, where he captained the football team and became the first Mahwah student admitted to MIT in over 30 years. He is shipping CustomerNode from NYC.
I'm Moving B2B software from record to action.
The next generation of platforms wins on three axes.
-
01
Stack position
Where in the stack you sitSystem of Record System of Action -
02
Architecture
What the software doesState-centric Process-centric -
03
Strategic data asset
What compounds at scaleEnterprise records Interaction & workflow data
Where the next platforms get built.
- System of Action
- Process-centric architecture
- Interaction & workflow data
Data compounds. Process becomes the moat. Outcome is the deliverable.
From systems that record to systems that act.
Sears owned the record. Amazon owned the process. B2B software is about to learn the same lesson.
— 02
What I'm building
CustomerNode™
Turn complex deals into executable journeys.
-
01 ⟶
Create
Your best practices, made repeatable.
-
02 ⟶
Share
One workflow, both teams. No handoffs.
-
03 ⟶
Navigate
Predictable execution, at any scale.
Discovery Stage
Buying Team
Selling Team
Collaboration Space
AI Agents
1 of 9
-
Hometown
Mahwah, NJ · Mahwah High SchoolCaptained the football team and played baseball. Earned a spot on the Academic Wall of Fame, and became the first Mahwah student admitted to MIT in over 30 years.
Football Captain Baseball Academic Wall of Fame MIT-bound -
MEng in AI · BSc EECS · Student-Athlete
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyEarned a BSc in EECS and an MEng in AI while playing varsity football and joining Delta Kappa Epsilon. Learned to balance practice, travel, and labs, and how to perform when both the playbook and the problem set are due Saturday (and yes, sometimes literally at the same time).
Football Computer Science MIT Athletics Delta Kappa Epsilon -
ML Researcher — TESS & NICER
MIT Kavli Institute for AstrophysicsLed astrophysics and space research at the Kavli Institute, with one researcher reporting to me. Built an image-classification pipeline that now analyzes TESS satellite images daily, hunting for supernovae and tidal-disruption events. Also designed an anomaly-detection model for NICER spacecraft health, replacing rigid rule-based monitoring with a scalable ML approach.
Astrophysics Space Research Computer Vision Anomaly Detection -
Associate
Teamworthy VenturesSourced and evaluated early- and growth-stage investments, then worked directly with portfolio companies (SeatGeek, HuntClub) on technical projects, shipping work alongside the investing.
Venture Sourcing Portfolio Ops -
Teaching Assistant — 6.390: Intro to ML
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyHelped shape the learning experience for students across linear / logistic regression, neural networks, reinforcement learning, and attention-based methods. Created content, ran labs, and held office hours.
Teaching Python Machine Learning -
ThoughtLine — Lead Researcher
MIT Media LabMy first system of action. Led a team of undergraduate researchers building ThoughtLine, a multi-sided platform for audiotherapy research. Participants got a Spotify-like listening experience inside medical studies. Clinicians got a research backend: design studies, recruit real patients, track listening data, and administer questionnaires over time. NLP analyzed the responses, all in service of formally testing the efficacy of audiotherapy for mental wellness. Also designed DockMed, a flexible containerized architecture supporting quantitative research at scale.
Read the MIT thesisSystem of Action Audiotherapy Multi-sided Platform NLP Mental Wellness Containers -
Founder
CustomerNodeMy second system of action. Shipping CustomerNode, the execution layer for multi-stage B2B deals. The CRM watches; CustomerNode moves. Stages, owners, outcomes, and agents that drive work forward, replacing the improvisation of selling and buying with a structured journey both sides run together.
System of Action Enterprise SaaS B2B Buyer Enablement Founder
— 04
Let's connect
If you sell a solution with a
multi-stage buying process,
let's talk.
The fastest way to keep up is the CustomerNode page, where the thought leadership and announcements live.