STORIES OF IMPACT
MADISON, Wis. - Physician by day, business owner by night, Ronak Mehta is one of six finalists in the country up for an Amazon Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year Award.
Amazon Storefronts has nearly 30,000 small and medium-sized businesses, and Mehta's caught the company's eye.
Mehta has a lot of heart, which she pours into her day job as a physician at UW-Health.
"I think it's incredibly meaningful," she said. "No two days are the same."
She carries it home to her side gig, where she has more than just heart.
"There's definitely days where it can be a bit overwhelming," Mehta said.
Mehta followed her gut, put her mind to it and came out with a full body of work, now listed on Amazon. Her line of more than a dozen plush organs are called Nerdbugs.
With names like 'Who put the cuter-us- in Uterus,' We Be-Lung Together' and 'Urine for a Treat,' it's clear Mehta loves puns.
"This one actually might be my favorite pun: This is the gallbladder. 'Who you gonna gall? Stone busters,'" she said.
The idea that came from a children's book Mehta wrote years ago.
"At first I really thought, like, 'Am I the only one that's actually going to think this is neat? It'd kind of dorky or cheesy," she said, but they've caught on.