Upamanyu Biswas
Netflix’s ‘Mad Unicorn‘ tells the story of Santi Saelee, an aspiring businessman who comes up with a business plan to break into the fast delivery service in Thailand. However, when renowned business tycoon Kanin betrays him, Santi vows revenge against the man by setting up his own fast delivery company – Thunder Express – which he aggressively expands with the hopes of crushing his enemy one day. As he embarks on his journey, he forges vital alliances with a cunning financial strategist, Xiaoyu, and computer prodigy, Ruijie, who become part of his quest to deliver the best delivery company in the nation, regardless of the obstacles in his path. To that end, the character’s go-getter attitude and immense resolve become the center of attention as we dive deeper into the narrative.
Santi Saelee’s Accomplishments are Vaguely Rooted in a Real-Life Figure’s
For the most part, the exploits of Santi Saelee in ‘Mad Unicorn’ are loosely inspired by the life and experiences of Komsan Saelee, the founder and CEO of Flash Express, an integrated E-Commerce logistics service provider and integrated service delivery platform based out of Thailand. The show captures Komsan’s rags-to-riches story by indulging in a few creative liberties that aid in the dramatization of the storytelling. For instance, there is no hint of the real-life CEO undertaking a revenge mission to overthrow another business empire, as depicted in the Netflix project. In the series, Santi is obsessed with running out Easy Express, the delivery service created by Kanin through his multi-conglomerate organization, Kanin Group. It is likely that the show’s writers added the element of revenge to help illustrate and heighten the protagonist’s achievements in a grandiose fashion.
As shown in the series, Komsan Saelee was born into a Chinese family in Chiang Mai, Thailand. While growing up in hardship, he realized the value of having a strong business acumen and thinking out of the box. He got a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, which he followed up with a few jobs here and there. Eventually, the idea of an express delivery service came to him, which he started with 400 million baht, bringing in investors to fund his dream while also putting in a lot of effort and time from his end. When he set up the venture, Saelee believed that he could make huge progress in Thailand by implementing ideas that international players had already figured out in the e-commerce business. However, they had a problem parsing the local ideologies. A similar dynamic plays out in the Netflix show..
While the show primarily captures Komsan’s overarching journey, his story is exaggerated in certain places to help the audience connect through heightened emotions. Biographical projects often deviate from real-life accuracy to adhere to a more thematically resonant narrative that brings the audience closer to the characters. As such, the show’s creative team likely elevated the feats performed by the protagonist to imbue a sense of larger-than-life quality to them. At the same time, it makes him all the more relatable when we see him fail in numerous critical junctions, showcasing the ups and downs of running a business. Therefore, a large extent of the narrative may be heavily dramatized but remain grounded in Komsan Saelee’s experience as a leading businessman in Thailand.
Komsan Saelee Continues to Grow Flash Express Today
Since 2017, Komsan Saelee has been the CEO of Flash Express and continues to serve the company on a day-to-day basis. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the company was one of the few business ventures to have a favorable period, delivering huge volumes of parcels. It was an unintended consequence of the global shutdown, as most people wanted their purchases to be delivered to their homes. In 2023, he brought a book containing valuable insights from his life as he began a start-up venture. The book also contains other ideas that he’s been previously unable to share via media interviews. His company has rapidly grown in a short space of time, especially after becoming the first unicorn company in Thailand in 2018. At the time, the CEO was 31 years old.
Today, Komsan continues to champion his humble beginnings as a main motivating factor behind his unrelenting drive to expand Flash Express beyond the borders of Thailand. His plans for growth include covering the entire Southeast Asia region, even though his company already provides logistics services in places like Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, and Vietnam. As long as Flash Express is governed by its three Cs principle – collaborative, creative, and challenging – the CEO hopes that there is no limit to the ceiling he can reach through his organization. Incidentally, he also shared an online post promoting the Netflix series, which shows his connection to the project. The 38-year-old lives in Bangkok, Thailand, today and will likely keep pushing to see his business outgrow all its competitors or, at the very least, try to do so.
Read More: Where is Mad Unicorn Filmed? Shooting Locations of the Netflix Show
