By Colleen Bayley
Charles Engler, a Loyola University Baltimore student from Annapolis, won UpSurge Baltimore’s $50,000 Innovation Award for his business Luminova Beauty.
With his award, Engler aspires to build the foundation for his science-backed skincare company.
“Dollar signs aside, this award is much more than that. It is supporting my vision and supporting my mindset,” Engler said.
UpSurge Baltimore held its Maryland Intercollegiate Student Venture Showcase last month. The innovation awards are funded by a new initative of the Maryland Technology Development Corp., or TEDCO, the Pava Lapere Legacy of Innovation Act of 2024, helping to provide grants to student-run, technology-based companies. Nine Maryland student entrepreneurs were selected to pitch their brands at the showcase, with one of these students being Engler.
“It was definitely an eye-opening experience, but I loved it. I met so many wonderful businesses- a lot of great minds are in Baltimore, and a lot of those minds are students,” Engler said.
Luminova Beauty aims to create a welcoming, easily accessible environment for skincare. This high-tech company specializes in red-light therapy, selling a 4-in-1 Ultimate Radiant Skincare Wand, paired with its moisturizing turmeric serum.
This handheld device sends red waves into the skin, notifying the brain to build more collagen in areas of the face where it is needed most, to repair blemishes, acne, or wrinkles. Ninety-two percent of active Luminova customers reported a total reduction of any facial scars or lines.
While the manufacturing of the products is completed overseas, Engler takes charge of the marketing, branding, shipping, and fulfillment of each package on his own.
“I want people to feel confident in their own skin, and not feel the need to break the bank to feel good,” Engler said. “Beauty companies should be putting the people first by making it more affordable.”
Engler said that with his grant award, he hopes to make Baltimore the headquarters for Luminova Beauty, including manufacturing and marketing development.
“The number one thing I feel is blessed. I feel extremely blessed and fortunate. Loyola has lots of great resources and tools to help students grow their passion. I’d have to give the credit to the man above, the team here at Loyola, and my family back at home,” Engler said.
According to a Loyola media release, Luminova is Engler’s third start-up in the past seven years, beginng at age 14.
“Charles is a serial entrepreneur whose success with Luminova will not be his last,” said Wendy Bolger, founding director of Loyola’s Simon Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, which nurtures student innovators through education, hands-on experiences, and creative experimentation. “We were thrilled when he decided to join us at Loyola and are lucky to have the chance to support his entrepreneurial development through his minor and the resources of the Simon Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship.”
As a teenager in Annapolis, Engler learned about stock market investing from his father and books on the topic. After months of study, he developed and sold stock market investing guides and was featured by WTOP News in 2021. His second venture launched in 2022, where he advised investors in groups and one on one.
