Nazmus Tareque

Co-founder of AnthroTek 

I’m co-founder of AnthroTek, a Cambridge-based startup that creates human-like synthetic materials for medical device innovation and soft robotics. My co-founder, a materials scientist, had been making prosthetic masks for cinema in his spare time, and together we saw the potential to apply that knowledge to medicine and technology. Within months of founding the company, we secured pre-seed funding and our first international clients. 

I studied for the Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) in 2015/2016 at Oxford after completing my undergraduate law degree. I originally expected to pursue a traditional legal career, but I soon realised that practising law wasn’t for me. What the BCL gave me, however, was confidence, critical thinking, and an ability to anticipate risk – skills that have proved invaluable in business. 

Before Oxford, I’d already helped to build an architectural glass company in Bangladesh. That experience, combined with the analytical rigour of the BCL, gave me the belief that I could do anything. Studying at Oxford was demanding, especially as I later discovered I’m dyslexic, but it showed me I could hold my own with some of the best thinkers. 

To current law students uncertain about their path, I’d say: don’t worry. In fact, that’s a beautiful thing. A law degree gives you skills that go far beyond legal practice. It trains you to see all sides of a problem, and to analyse and reason with precision. Those are skills I use every day in running a business and managing a team of people. 

In today’s world, where technology and AI can take over many aspects of work, what remains essential is our human ability to think critically and creatively. That, I think, is what truly sets law graduates apart.