Charles Coristine used to revel in working at Morgan Stanley. He loved the pace, even waking up in the middle of the night to trade in the Tokyo and London stock markets.

In 2011, after nearly two decades on Wall Street, Coristine burned out. He tried multiple remedies: switching to a vegetarian diet, meditating, enrolling in an MBA program. None of them worked.

At a barbeque, Coristine met an owner of snack company LesserEvil, who talked about wanting to sell his “flatlining” business. Coristine had no food industry experience, but was intrigued by the idea of a fresh start — and he liked that the company’s name was “synchronistic” with a healthy, mindful lifestyle, he says.

In November 2011, Coristine bought LesserEvil for $250,000 from his savings, plus a future payment of $100,000, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. The risk was impulsive and ill-researched, he says: LesserEvil, which aimed to offer consumers healthier popcorn and snack alternatives, was losing money and bringing in less than $1 million in annual revenue at the time, the company estimates.

Yet the Danbury, Connecticut-based company has grown significantly under his watch. As CEO and president, Coristine grew its annual gross sales to $103.3 million in 2023 — including $82.9 million in net sales — and got its products into major retailers and corner stores across the U.S.

The business, which sells a variety of popcorns and air-popped Cheetos-like puffs and curls, has been profitable since 2021, according to company estimates. It made $14.4 million last year in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA.

“I didn’t know anyone in food … to ask whether I was crazy or not, but that’s probably good,” says Coristine, 52. “If I had done a lot of research and looked into it, I would have realized that the probability of success was pretty low.”

Here’s how Coristine is making LesserEvil into a household name.

When he bought LesserEvil, Coristine was working at TD Bank and pursuing an MBA at Cornell University Graduate School.

In 2012, he got his MBA degree and started his new full-time job as LesserEvil’s CEO. Among his first moves: hiring his graduate school friend Andrew Strife as COO and CFO, and his wakeboard instructor as head of marketing.

Along with the previous regime’s accountant, the small team worked from an office in Wilton, Connecticut, to update LesserEvil’s branding and create their own production line. The old-fashioned branding wasn’t attracting customers, and the company was paying about 20% of its revenue from each sale to co-packers who helped make and ship out the snacks, Coristine says.

Coristine’s savings had largely run out, so the team raised an undisclosed amount of money from their friends and family, and secured more financing through a connection Coristine had at a bank, says Strife. They moved into a 5,000-square-foot factory in Danbury in 2012, and filled it with used equipment purchased at auctions.

The team made “friends with welders down the street,” who could weld wheels and popcorn shoots onto the machinery, Strife says. They painted factory’s exterior black and plastering a yellow “LesserEvil” logo to the side of the building themselves. As Coristine recalls, drivers started pulling off the road, entering the factory and asking, “Is this a strip club?”

“Everything was scrappy and needed to be reinvented as we went along,” says Strife.

In 2014, when a neighboring carpet factory moved out, LesserEvil knocked down the wall and added 2,000 square feet and a production line to its operations.

That year, Coristine’s personal nutritionist offered a health-focused suggestion: Use coconut oil to pop the popcorn. Coristine was skeptical that coconut oil would stay fresh in a snack bag, so he literally shelf-tested it, he says: “We put it on the top of a fridge, which gets really hot [and left it for] for three months.”

The oil stayed fresh, and Coristine liked the surprisingly buttery taste, so LesserEvil launched the reformulated product with a new laughing Buddha logo in 2014 — calling it the Buddha Bowl. It brought in roughly $2 million that year, accounting for a third of LesserEvil’s annual revenue, the company says.

Kroger, the first major retailer to sell LesserEvil, started stocking its products in 2015. That partnership helped fund another move for LesserEvil in 2017 — this time, to a 20,000-square-foot factory, says Strife.

A year later, the company got its first outside funding — about $3 million, the company says — from sustainable food and agriculture investment firm InvestEco. Coristine and his team used the funds to add production lines to the new factory and update LesserEvil’s packaging again: Each product now features its own “guru,” from the ancient Greek poet Homer to Henry David Thoreau.

The rebrand, and added products, helped push the brand into profitability. Coristine started paying himself a salary from LesserEvil that year, the company says.

LesserEvil’s goal has always been to differentiate itself from competitors with non-standard ingredients like extra-virgin coconut oil and avocado oil, says Coristine.

Sometimes, using atypical ingredients can have consequences: A Consumer Reports investigation from June found “concerning amounts of lead” in two of LesserEvil’s Lil’ Puffs snacks for kids. The company issued an apology, and tells Make It that it’s relaunching the puffs — free of the cassava flour that previously contained lead — later this year.

The company still brought in $62 million in net sales during the first half of 2024. It used another round of funding — $19 million, in a round led by investment firm Aria Growth Partners, LesserEvil says — to buy out prior investors and open a new factory in New Milford, roughly 15 miles from its Danbury facility.

Today, the company has 280 employees. Coristine’s short-term goals: Keep growing and launching new products. Longer-term, he simply wants the company to “be a brand that could be around for along time,” he says.

LesserEvil has already succeeded in helping Coristine solve a more personal problem, he adds — he works less, from about 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and feels happier since leaving Wall Street.

“It feels joyous, so it doesn’t feel like work,” says Coristine.

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Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has spent the past couple decades warning the general public about ominous issues, from upcoming “climate disasters” to devastating cyberattacks.

Two potential catastrophes evoke the most concern from Gates. “A lot of unrest” in today’s world could spark “a major war,” he tells CNBC Make It. And even “if we avoid a big war … then, yes, there will be another pandemic, most likely in the next 25 years.”

Scientists typically view pandemics as likely, even inevitable, occurrences over time. They are indeed becoming more common, due to factors like climate change and population growth, research shows.

For Gates and other global health advocates, the question isn’t whether another pandemic will occur soon — it’s whether nations will be more prepared than they were for the outbreak of Covid-19. “The country that the world expected to lead and be the model fell short of those expectations,” Gates says, referring to the United States.

Gates wrote a book called “How to Prevent the Next Pandemic” in 2022, in which he called out various governments, including the U.S., for not being adequately prepared in 2020. In the book, he laid out several recommendations for countries worldwide, including stronger quarantining policies, investing in disease monitoring and boosting vaccine research and development.

While some progress has been made, with increased spending on pandemic preparedness in the U.S. and elsewhere, Gates says the global response hasn’t yet been enough. “Although some of the lessons from [the coronavirus] pandemic have been learned, [it’s been] way less than I would expect, sadly,” he says.

The political divisions many believe hampered the world’s response to Covid-19 are still standing in the way of preparing appropriately for the next outbreak, Gates adds: “Getting our thoughts together about what [we did] well, what we didn’t do well, is still not happening …. Perhaps, in the next five years, that’ll get better. But, so far, it’s quite surprising.”

Preventing widespread disease is the focus of an episode in the upcoming Netflix docuseries “What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates,” set to premiere September 18.

In an advance screening of the Netflix series provided to Make It, Gates sits down with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. In that conversation, Fauci is adamant that the wealthiest nations, like the U.S., have a “moral responsibility” to share their abundant resources to lead the way on preventing the spread of disease around the world.

Fauci published a memoir this summer called “On Call,” in which he expressed his concerns over how the world is facing a “crisis of truth” over rampant misinformation, such as the kind that shook the public’s faith in public health initiatives.

The scientist struck a more optimistic tone in a July interview with People, in which he said he believes that public trust of scientific facts will eventually be restored.

“I still feel as somewhat of a cautious optimist that there are the better angels in everybody that will come out,” Fauci said.

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Timothy Armoo, a co-founder and former CEO of influencer marketing firm Fanbytes, is not what you might expect from a multi-millionaire.

He doesn’t own any mansions — or property at all — saying he prefers to spend some of his money on eclectic investments, ranging from exotic fruit businesses in Africa to funding the sale of a lithium mine.

Armoo made his money selling Fanbytes to digital marketing agency Brainlabs in May 2022 for an eight-figure sum (the exact amount has not been made public).

But the young entrepreneur told CNBC Make It that he felt “almost too crippled to spend the money” after growing up poor in public housing in south London.

Describing what he called a “scarcity mindset” that he developed growing up, Armoo said: “I was convinced that if I started to spend the money, it would all start to go.”

“I would track it every week, maybe twice a week,” he said. “I had this spreadsheet where I would track to the penny how much I had.”

Armoo knew he had to find a way to come to terms with the fact that he was now wealthy, and wasn’t about to lose it all — so he called his bank. “I said: ‘I would like to come and take out a million pounds in cash.’”

After various checks, Armoo collected the cash from the bank and took it home in a big bag. He then spread it all out over his bed.

“I just looked at it,” he said. “The reason I did that was that I wanted to make it very visceral to me that: ‘Dude, if all else fails, if you spend everything on gambling, or you spend it on crypto, or something bad, at the very least, you have a million pounds in cash.’”

Armoo said he invests his money in index funds — passive funds that track an index, such as the S&P 500 — and owns a variety of stocks including Shopify and Cloudflare.

“So I basically have two camps: one is the extremely safe bucket: index funds, overweight cash, bonds and guilt and treasuries. Then the other side of things is completely exotic.”

Some of Armoo’s more unusual investments include financing avocado, soybean, and mango businesses in Kenya, Angola and Tanzania, which supply supermarkets in Europe.

He also admitted he gets involved in “random stuff” and “alternative investments” such as buying uranium and funding the sale of a lithium mine.

“I enjoy the game of finding different arbitrages and different cool ways to spend, and invest the money, as opposed to ‘we’re just going to put it all in index funds,’” he added.

Most wealthy people love to invest in real estate, but not Armoo.

“I actually don’t own a house. I didn’t get involved in any residential property or any direct commercial property,” he said.

“Most people see property as their way of building wealth, but I use businesses as my way of building wealth and I don’t have a family, I don’t have a partner now, so why?”

Armoo said he expects more younger millionaires to make this choice, rejecting property in favor of being able to travel and move around more. “I probably only spend maybe half the year in London,” he said.

And unlike his peers, he’s less inclined to buy extravagant things.

“I’m generally quite a minimalist person,” he said. The one example he gave of a “flashy” purchase was first-class flights to Bali for him and his now ex-girlfriend. “That was cool. I remember thinking: ‘Yo, this is gangster.’”

The young millionaire emphasized that sometimes it’s good to reject the traditional way of doing things.

“I think there’s actually a bigger point here, which is to examine the rules that you live your life by. You should examine them and say: ’Well, why should I do this? Why should I choose this career? Why should I invest my money in this way?” he said.

“You should really examine those rules, because if not, you’re going to wake up later on and realize that you’ve lived your life by someone else’s rules.”

It happens all the time. As the Director of Nutritional, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Psychiatry at Harvard, I see patients reduce symptoms of mood disorders, lower their stress, boost their energy and alleviate cognitive impairments when they cut ultra-processed foods out of their diets and replace them with unprocessed, nutrient-dense alternatives.

Advanced technologies in food production allow our food supply to meet the demands of our growing population. But at what cost? 

Ultra-processed foods can be detrimental to our physical and mental health. Yet they now account for more than half of the calories in the standard American diet.

I try to avoid them as much as possible. And I stay away from sugary breakfast cereals in particular.  

Ultra-processed foods are industrially produced items derived from widely grown and genetically modified crops like corn, soy, and sugar. They tend to be cheap to produce, convenient to purchase and consume, and highly palatable. 

Unfortunately, the various production steps often strip these foods of their natural vitamins, minerals and fiber. 

They have a long shelf life, which is typically achieved through added preservatives, chemicals, artificial flavors, sweeteners, and coloring, and are often unnaturally high in omega-6 fatty acids and low in omega-3 fatty acids.

This combination of artificial ingredients, sugar, high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, and low nutritional content makes ultra-processed foods inflammatory and detrimental to the microbiome. When you eat ultra-processed foods consistently over time, it can contribute to a host of physical and mental health complications, from diabetes and obesity to depression and anxiety.

DON’T MISS: How to master your money and grow your wealth

Some of the most popular and widely consumed ultra-processed foods are breakfast cereals; snacks like chips, cookies, and crackers; salad dressings; many condiments; sugar-sweetened beverages; and commercial frozen dinners. 

These have all become staples in the American diet over the past few decades. Worse, they’re often marketed as health foods, though their consumption continues to be linked to chronic inflammation and poor health outcomes.

Walk into most grocery stores in the U.S. and you’ll find an entire aisle of cereal with jolly mascots and clever slogans grabbing the attention of consumers, especially children.

But do you know what you’re really putting in your bowl every morning, and how it will — or won’t — set you up for the day? 

Breakfast cereals tend to be mostly simple carbohydrates with almost an entire day’s worth of added sugars. Consuming this as the first meal of the day can lead to blood sugar spikes that leave us hungry just a few hours later and more inclined to reach for a sugary snack between meals.

A carb-heavy breakfast can also lead to low energy, brain fog, and irritability later in the day.

An ideal breakfast is nutrient-dense and contains a balance of carbs, fats, and proteins.

Because this is hard to achieve via ultra-processed foods, I instead recommend pairing whole plant foods with your favorite clean protein and a healthy fat. A balanced breakfast with these components will power your body and mind through the morning and support healthy food choices later in the day. 

Some of my favorite brain-healthy breakfasts include: 

• Homemade chia seed pudding with a handful of blueberries and walnuts
• An egg scramble with a few veggies like spinach or tomatoes and avocado
• A green smoothie made with leafy greens, nut butter and a clean protein powder if you are having breakfast on the go!

Reducing your intake of ultra-processed foods and increasing the amount of whole foods in your diet can reverse chronic inflammation, decrease the risk of nutrient deficiencies and lead to a more balanced microbiome for improved gut health.

This last benefit is a key first step in improving mental fitness via the gut-brain connection, as well as in supporting the health of all other organ groups and overall metabolic health.

Since ultra-processed foods are everywhere in our environment, removing them entirely can seem daunting. 

If these foods are currently a key component of your diet, I recommend starting with a few swaps each day and taking it slowly. Trading your morning breakfast cereal for a healthier option is a great place to start. 

Remember, it is all about balance! Try consuming these foods as part of an 80/20 lifestyle, where 80% of your diet consists of whole, nutrient-dense foods. The remaining 20% leaves you room to enjoy life as it comes. 

Dr. Uma Naidoo is the MoodFoodMD, a Harvard-trained nutritional psychiatrist, professional chef, and nutritional biologist. She’s an instructor at MasterClass and the author of “Calm your Mind with Food” and the national and international bestseller “This is Your Brain on Food.”

Want to master your money this fall? Sign up for CNBC’s new online course. We’ll teach you practical strategies to hack your budget, reduce your debt, and grow your wealth. Start today to feel more confident and successful. Use code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off, now extended through September 30, 2024, for the back-to-school season.

Whole Foods Market CEO Jason Buechel has one primary tactic that keeps him productive, he says: time blocking.

“It’s important that I time-block my schedule so I don’t get stuck in meeting after meeting, and I can focus on Whole Foods Market’s longer-term vision and strategy,” he tells CNBC Make It.

The time-blocking method involves carving out specific windows of time for high-priority work tasks. Spending time in physical stores is a “big priority” for Buechel, for example, so he reserves time in his calendar each Friday to visit at least one location, he says. 

“Getting calendar bombed” by unproductive meetings can derail his day, he recently told LinkedIn’s “This is Working” podcast and video series. Buechel’s daily time-blocked schedule, though, means he’s “only going to meetings that I really need to be there for” and that are “only as long as they need to be.”

On a typical day, Buechel can have 10 meetings or more, he tells Make It. The company encourages staff to hold 20- and 50-minute meetings to free up 10-minute intervals in between — during which they can work on any action items just discussed.

He uses those 10-minute windows for running “ad hoc meetings with my direct reports or dealing with a pressing issue that might pop up,” he adds.

Shekhinah Bass, head of talent strategy at Goldman Sachs, follows the time-management strategy to maintain work-life balance. Time-blocking, or timeboxing, can provide a clear plan for your day and help prevent you from feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list, she told Make It last year. 

“It’s helped me save hours in my workday,” Bass said. “Creating space for yourself both to focus and recharge is really important not just for your career, but for your peace of mind.” 

Having a packed calendar can lead to less productivity, according to Yale University psychology professor Laurie Santos. Feeling too busy can cause worse job performance and burnout, she said at the South by Southwest festival in March.

“I think we feel strapped for time because we think working … as much as we work all the time is essential for achieving the things we want to achieve in life,” Santos said.

To stave off this problem, Santos recommended giving yourself more time to work uninterrupted while not packing your calendar to the brim with agenda items. That can help you feel less busy, less stressed, and ultimately more productive. 

Want to master your money this fall? Sign up for CNBC’s new online course. We’ll teach you practical strategies to hack your budget, reduce your debt, and grow your wealth. Start today to feel more confident and successful. Use code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off, now extended through September 30, 2024, for the back-to-school season.

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