What It Takes to Become Investable
This article was published by MTEC SmartZone and written by Allison Szlachta. View the original here.
Fourteen weeks of programming. Over 100 hours of instruction. And, in the end, it all boils down to 5 minutes. 5 minutes to step onto a stage, pitch your company to a room full of investors, and sell your idea.
For SinusBath CEO Sergiy Blackwood, those 5 minutes represented much more than a chance to win prize money. They represented an opportunity to prove himself a confident, articulate CEO; a leader capable of standing on any stage and telling SinusBath’s story.
That level of confidence doesn’t develop overnight. It was built through hours of practice, reciting a script, making mistakes, receiving feedback, and eventually stepping onto the stage.
But before the practice, pitch, and eventual win, there was just an idea.
Behind the Idea
SinusBath began as an idea from Dr. Michael Siegel, an awarded ENT doctor with over 35 years of experience. Throughout his career, Siegel noticed a common problem: his patients regularly experienced buildup in sinus cavities that are not easily accessed nor cleared out by standard nasal irigation. This observation highlighted the need for a less invasive, more comfortable way to fully clear all of the sinus cavities. After years of watching his patients struggle, he developed his own solution, and was granted a patent in 2019. From there, the challenge became moving his idea from a prototype to a fully commercialized product.
That is where Sergiy Blackwood stepped in.
Blackwood was introduced to the technology during his time at Northern Michigan University. He was brought onto the company in 2025 to act as CEO and move SinusBath towards commercialization. Since that decision was made, Blackwood has served as CEO, building a team, conducting customer discovery, securing funding, and preparing the company for growth.
As someone who has dealt with chronic sinus issues himself, SinusBath’s mission resonates personally with Blackwood. His goal is simple, “solving and helping everyone breathe better, finally”. At the same time, Blackwood knows bringing a medical product to market is no small task. Taking an idea like this to market requires a clear plan, lots of funding, industry connections, and a strong leader capable of communicating the product’s potential. That is where the AMMP Accelerator Program comes in.
Joining AMMP
A major reason Blackwood applied for AMMP 2026 was to become more comfortable pitching in front of an audience. “I really wanted to be able to have a space where I can practice and get feedback on my pitch,” Blackwood explains. Throughout the program, he worked with mentors, guest speakers, investors, and his fellow founders.
““AMMP isn’t just going through a lecture, it’s very grounded in what you’re currently working on”
The program is designed to be interactive, exposing founders to a wide variety of perspectives and providing personalized feedback based on each individual business. Rather than just listening to a lecture, founders are encouraged to have conversations about their specific businesses, challenges, and wins to help them move forward.
Blackwood took that personalized mentorship seriously. In preparation for both Demo Days, he worked extensively with SBDC Tech Team member and AMMP guest speaker Scott Taylor to build out and refine his pitch deck. He practiced at his office, in the car, at home, and every night before going to bed. By the time he stepped onto that stage in Houghton, he knew his pitch like the back of his hand. Local Demo Day gave Blackwood and the rest of the founders an opportunity to receive valuable feedback and further prepare for an even bigger stage at Detroit Demo Day. After Houghton’s Local Demo Day, he continued refining his pitch, “perfecting the story and memorizing it first in Houghton,” he recalls.
By the time Detroit Demo Day arrived, he was more than prepared. Blackwood described his experience walking out onto the Detroit stage feeling “confident, not forgetting what I was going to say. All of these dozens of hours of practicing really paid off.” However, no amount of practice could have prepared Blackwood for what came next. SinusBath had won AMMP 2026 and was named the Most Investable Company in the cohort. “Given the caliber of the other founders in the cohort who were also pitching, I was so shocked, in disbelief. It felt so, so amazing”.
What’s next for SinusBath
Winning for Blackwood was about more than just the award. “It validates the idea,” he says. Even more, it validates something for him personally. It reassured him that he has what it takes to be a strong CEO and successfully lead a company. “It has been so rewarding to see that I can actually put my mind to something and achieve it.”
Since winning, Blackwood has used that momentum as an opportunity to keep pushing SinusBath forward. With AMMP 2026’s curriculum now over, SinusBath is working towards finalizing their final prototype and pursuing new funding opportunities. “I’ve been applying for every pitch competition under the sun to get as much non-dilutive funding as possible while we can.”
Even though the formal 14 weeks of programming have concluded, Blackwood plans to utilize his new network through AMMP. “I'm really looking forward to having support from all the experienced mentors and AMMP leadership team to help us think through problems in the future.”
Having experienced AMMP firsthand, Blackwood knows the amount of work it takes to make the most of the program. For any founders considering joining, he has one piece of advice: “Make sure you’re ready to actually roll up your sleeves and get to the grind. The program is an accelerator and as the name suggests, it speeds up the progress of your business.” Blackwood took AMMP seriously, using it as an opportunity to grow himself and the business. In doing so, he walked away with more than just new skills and connections. He gained a newfound confidence in himself as CEO, and walked away with a win. While AMMP 2026 may be over, for SinusBath, it is only the beginning.
About AMMP Accelerator
The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Program (AMMP) Accelerator is designed to support around five cohort companies every three years, fostering a sustainable model for startup acceleration. Through targeted training and mentorship, the initiative aims to catalyze economic growth, with a projected creation of 40 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in the Upper Midwest region. Additionally, the program will provide guidance and mentorship to approximately 120 companies in the community, driving forward the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Program funding comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) Build to Scale Program, Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), and MTEC SmartZone.
About MTEC
Michigan Tech Enterprise Corporation (MTEC) is one of 21 SmartZones in the State of Michigan. MTEC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), its mission is to facilitate the creation and ongoing success of high-tech value propositions in conjunction with the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Since 2003, the MTEC SmartZone has provided mentoring, technical support, and other services to local companies that have led to the creation of over 800 high-tech jobs in the Houghton and Hancock Michigan area.
About MEDC
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation, in collaboration with more than 100 economic development partners, markets Michigan as the place to do business, assists businesses in their growth strategies, and fosters the growth of vibrant communities across the state. MEDC’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation initiative establishes Michigan as the place to create and grow a business by providing high-tech start-up companies with access to a variety of critical resources, such as funding and expert counsel, from ideation to maturation. For more on MEDC Entrepreneurship & Innovation, visit: michiganbusiness.org/entrepreneurship.
To learn more about SinusBath, visit their LinkedIn page here.