Since graduating with a Law LLB in 2017, Southampton alumnus Rohit has gone on to have a successful entrepreneurial career, creating India’s largest affordable pharmacy chain and significantly reducing patients’ medical bills.
Studying at Southampton
Studying law at Southampton was an experience of a lifetime. I decided to study here due to the University’s international reputation, QS world ranking, and diverse student and alumni community.
My first year at university was largely about striking a balance between the massive cultural transition moving from India to the UK. I learnt to cook and eat well, went out, and attended lectures in law. I also took part in a number of student societies including cricket, sky-diving club and UNICEF.
My most impactful years were in Southampton and the most invaluable skill I gained was time management. Southampton had a rigorous yet rewarding academic learning curve, and I spent my time shuffling between rigorous but rewarding academics, University sports and the fantastic social life.
This taught me the basic but most critical skills of time management, task prioritisation, goal setting and organisation.
A law degree teaches you skills that go beyond a courtroom. I learnt that real life discourse of Intellectual property rights, company law structures, and labour law are everywhere around us. Southampton set me up to survive and thrive in the real world, and I am forever grateful.
A successful entrepreneurial career
I was always very clear that I wanted to start an enterprise, and I decided my home country of India was the best place due to its economic growth. I identified that there was an opportunity to do this in medicine, where lifesaving drugs that were produced for 10 cents were being sold for 5 dollars.
I launched Zeelab Pharmacy in 2020 and scaled it into one of India’s fastest-growing affordable medicine networks. This is the biggest achievement of my career so far.
In 2025, I was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in the Retail and E-commerce category. This marks a key milestone in my entrepreneurial journey as Forbes 30 under 30 is the highest-level recognition for any individual.
This served as both recognition and fuel to keep building what I believe can be India’s most trusted healthcare brand. The company has helped customers save more than $120million USD, has built a team of more 1,000, and has delivered consistent growth while balancing customer centricity, profitability and stakeholder management.
I built a high-performing team of industry experts and young energetic people who deliver consistent growth. The numerous skills I learnt at university formed the basis of everything I do in entrepreneurship. The diverse cohort helped me develop my interpersonal skills, which I believe are essential when building an enterprise.
Rohit Mukul, LLB graduate
Rohit’s top tips
- Get things started with optimism, self-belief and raw horsepower.
- Get things finished with cohesive teams focusing on velocity and long-term commitment
