Melissa Clark-Reynolds is the Alpha Monkey and CEO of minimonos.com. minimonos.com is an Ethical Children’s brand based on a Virtual World. The company is moving into touch applications and toys in 2013.

Who inspires you?

My kids most of all. I have always been inspired by Virginia Woolf’s Three Guineas, human rights activists, eco-heroes such as Jacques Cousteau and David Suzuki. The Story of Stuff’s Anne Leonard.

Why are you an entrepreneur?

I love creating something where there was nothing. My first foray into entrepreneurship was economic – I couldn’t afford to raise my family on the wages I earnt. I was a single mother and couldn’t afford childcare, couldn’t afford not to work and discovered I was paid 70% of them men in the same role. Now I am an entrepreneur because I love it, it is the most creative thing to do with my life.

What was a defining moment in your career?

Several! One was the realisation that as an entrepreneur I earn what I make – no-one can ever make me redundant and I earn the same money as the guys. My first business competed with the government and they changed the law in NZ to put us out of business. It really taught me 1. Not to compete with the government, and 2. that that saying attributed to Mother Teresa (What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway.) is perfect for entrepreneurs!

How is your company different from your competitors?

Our purpose – we are mission driven. We really want to make the world a better place for kids, all kids. Our competitors want to sell them a lot of plastic stuff.

Where do you see your company in the next five years?

I hope we are a global, ethical children’s brand. Engaging kids with the wonder of the world around them – and inspiring 1 million children to undertake eco-projects in their communities.

What’s next for your company?

Licencing, and the launch of ethical toys. Just as we are becoming more interested in pur food and where it comes from/how it is produced; and the clothes we buy (who made them, what was the supply chain, what happens to them when we are finished with them?); I am hoping we will will ask the same about the toys we buy. There have been huge strides in product safety for toys, but how wonderul it would be if all toys were Fair Trade, sustainable sourced, slavery free.

How did you finance your business when it was at the early stage? (Self-funded, crowd-funded, Angel Investor, VC)

Initially self-funded and now backed by a number of Angels (from NZ, Japan and Europe).

Tell me something about yourself that we don’t know already.

We live in both Wellington, NZ and London, UK. In NZ we have a wonderful, chaotic organic garden with free range chickens that produce the best eggs I have ever eaten.

What is your guilty pleasure? (Real Housewives, Chocolate, 50 shades of Grey, etc)

Chocolate, and saturday mornings in bed with a great book, and Youtube. Also I think all Kiwis (NZers) abroad are obsessive about great coffee.

Describe a time you failed. What did you learn from that experience?

I hate failing, and yet I fail all the time! I guess the biggest fail I had was when the government closed my business down – I had over 200 staff and I felt I had let them all down when we had to close. When I had licked my wounds and came back out of my “cave”, I realized that no-one could take the feeling away of having built my dream. I remembered that life is ephemeral and nothing is permanent. That we can do our best, and life everyday with our values in the forefront – spend time with the people we love, doing what inspires us, doing the best we can. Things don’t always work out, so have the best possible journey on the way through.

What is your favorite mobile app?

At the moment its a tie between myfitnesspal and The world of goo!

What do you do to help focus?

Play loud music. The genre varies. Chemical Brothers definitely increases my output. Before I speak in public I have a set of three songs I usually listen to on my ipod (Hurt, Johnny Cash version; Something so True, the Black Seeds; OOOH Child, Nina Simone)

Any words of advice for entrepreneurs who are trying to get their ventures launched?

LAUNCH. Get any of out there as fast as possible even if it isn’t good enough yet and get feedback from your customers, NOW.

Follow Melissa on Twitter @minimonos @maximonos