Mad Unicorn, the new Netflix series, is based on the true story of Komsan Saelee, the founder and CEO of Flash Express, an e-commerce logistics firm. The reason why we are talking about the entrepreneurial journey of Mr. Saelee is that Flash Group became a unicorn startup, the first company in Thailand to do so. The company, which Saelee started with just 400 million baht, was valued at more than 1 billion dollars in 2021. Though the series is inspired by true events, after watching the trailer, I believe that the creators have taken certain creative liberties. The Netflix series states that Saelee’s story is one of revenge, as the man was betrayed by a business partner/investor in whom he had put his trust. We see Komsan Saelee making brave choices, facing challenges, building a team, losing hope, and then defying the odds to climb to the top of the food chain. A lot of times, while making biographical dramas, creators like having an antagonist in the story to make things more entertaining. We have had examples where creative liberties are taken and a fictional character is created just to glorify and dramatize the journey of the protagonist. So I don’t know if there really was somebody in Komsan Saelee’s life whom he wanted to seek revenge against or if there was somebody who tried to put him down. It seemed in the trailer that the man was quite hurt by the betrayal, and that gave him the motivation to go forth and make history. But villain or no villain, Komsan Saelee’s success story was no less than a miracle. The man created an empire from scratch which promises to expand in the near future.
How was Komsan’s childhood?
Komsan Saelee was not born with a silver spoon, and he had to work really hard to make ends meet. Komsan was born into a Chinese family, and somehow the lack of resources, the obstacles his family faced financially, and the kind of hard work his parents put in, shifted something inside him. I am quite sure that Komsan’s parents, too, would have wanted him to find a job and have a stable life. But Komsan sought something else. I will say that even after coming from an underprivileged background, he was one of those lucky people who knew exactly what he wanted from life. Komsan knew that he couldn’t work for somebody else, and the urge to start his own business was becoming stronger with every passing day. Komsan was studying at Lampang Rajabhat University when he decided to open a shop in front of the campus. Now, that demonstrates the kind of itch the man had to start something of his own as soon as he could. He had an unparalleled business acumen, and he knew that he just needed other investors to see his potential. Komsan started to work in a logistics company after his graduation, but soon he realized the potential of the Thai market and how he could use it to his advantage. After a little bit of research and a leap of faith, he let his intuition guide him to glory.
What was the reason behind Flash Group’s success?
It looks easy on paper when you say that Komsan looped in Weijie Di, who worked at Alibaba, as his partner. But nobody could ever know the number of people he must have pitched his idea to, the number of times he must have been rejected, or the number of times he must have felt unmotivated and lost the will to get back up again and fight back. That said, Weijie Di’s support came as a blessing in disguise because as the COO of the company, the man brought years of expertise. With Wiejie’s experience and Komsan’s business acumen, Flash Group was able to venture into Thailand and completely change the rules of the e-commerce logistics market.
As stated earlier, Komsan noticed that Thailand had only international players in the e-commerce business who didn’t understand local sensibilities. He knew that understanding what people really wanted would give him an edge over others. He was aware that companies were charging a huge price for delivery services and that he could use this to his advantage. I believe that one big reason behind Flash Group’s success was that Komsan understood that he could benefit by the use of AI and technology and that collecting user data would give him an unprecedented advantage. So Komsan was able to cut down the delivery cost by a huge margin. He could allocate his resources in a more efficient, more economical manner, and moreover, besides everything, he made sure that the customers as well as the business owners benefited. It was as if the man was able to balance the forces and reach an equilibrium pertaining to market dynamics.
In one of his interviews, Komsan was heard saying that understanding that AI was the way forward gave him a huge advantage, and he could beat the already established companies at their own game. Komsan knew that customer satisfaction was paramount, something that his international competitors took for granted. Another masterstroke that Komsan made was that he didn’t just stick to delivery services, but he created an entire ecosystem that gave him a better hold over the logistics business. From managing inventory to having storage houses, Flash Group did everything to cut the cumulative cost that customers had to pay. Also, they provided assistance to new entrepreneurs when it came to handling back-end operations, which gave them a huge boost. Komsan didn’t stop there, and he went on to launch FlashPay, through which customers could make online, hassle-free payments.
Flash Express handles around 2 million packages per day, and Komsan knows that in the near future it will increase as he is hellbent on expanding the business and entering into foreign markets. It will be interesting to see what the Netflix series has to offer, if it does justice to the inspiring story of Komsan Saelee and the man that he is, and what creative liberties it takes in order to make the narrative more engaging.
