Debapriya Bhattacharya
Originally titled ‘Songkhram Song Duan,’ Netflix’s ‘Mad Unicorn’ is a Thai business drama series that follows Santi (Ice-Natara Nopparatayapon) as he develops his start-up into the first unicorn from the country. Born in poverty and fluent in Mandarin on account of his mother, Santi recognizes an opportunity in the express delivery industry. He shares his idea with the business tycoon Kanin (Ek-Thaneth Warakulnukroh) with the hope of securing his financial support for the venture. However, the latter betrays him and attempts to profit from the idea on his own.
Hungry for redemption, Satin launches his own company, Thunder Express, by teaming up with the witty financier Xiaoyu (Janeyeh Jiranorraphat) and antisocial coding expert Ruijie (Dr. Palang Rocksilp). The company takes the market by storm, but also attracts the wrath of the mean-spirited Kanin. Dealing with the themes of resilience and redemption, the mini-series created by Jira Maligool and Vanridee Pongsittisak is set against the backdrop of the dynamic business landscape of Bangkok and shares a rich and nuanced narrative.
Mad Unicorn is Inspired by Thailand’s First Unicorn Startup
Writers Vasudhorn Piyaromna, Thodsapon Thiptinnakorn, Tanida Hantaweewatana, Pattaranat Phiboonsawat, and Nottapon Boonprakob based ‘Mad Unicorn’ on the real-life story of Komsan Lee, founder and CEO of Flash Express. The delivery service was started in 2018 and is part of the larger Flash Group that provides e-commerce logistics services. The company became the first Unicorn (worth $1 billion or more) startup in Thailand in 2021, three years into operations. The daily peak parcel volume handled by the company stands at 2 million, which mirrors the wild ride of the Thunder Express seen in the show.
The protagonist of ‘Mad Unicorn,’ Santi, is reportedly modeled after Komsan. Much like his on-screen counterpart, Komsan was born into a poor Chinese family hailing from Doi Wawee in the northern province of Chiang Rai. His entrepreneurial drive became apparent early in his youth, as he opened his first business in the same year he got into Lampang Rajabhat University. Starting with a local grocery store, he went on to try his luck at being a property sales agent, freight forwarder, and operator of a logistics firm that delivered to the US, Japan, and China.
The Flash Express was started by Komsan with 400 million baht. In an interview with the Bangkok Post, the founder and CEO stated, “Regardless of how poor you are, which surname you have or where you graduated from, you can become a unicorn startup if you select the right industry where market size is big enough and find the right niche to work in, and have a good team.” He attributed the success of Flash to timing the market right, when it was big enough to support the growth of e-commerce. The company waged a price war against its competitors, lowering the starting delivery fee to 25 baht from the then-standard 60 baht.
Mad Unicorn Took Creative Liberties With the Startup Expansion
Much like Santi taking the help of Xiaoyu and Ruijie to help Thunder Express grow in the show, Flash Express’ owner Komsan Lee partnered with Di Weijie, a former employee at Alibaba, to help his business scale new heights. Komsan was determined to turn his startup into a success story, and even went to the hospital over exhaustion in the first few days. However, he refused to let the experience deter his spirits. In addition to significantly bringing down the market price, Flash Express also made use of AI to plan the fastest routes for deliveries. It successfully aligned customer interest with greater profit and savings.
Where ‘Mad Unicorn’ noticeably deviates from reality is the introduction of the antagonistic character, Kanin. His betrayal of Santi is what pushes the latter to make his business venture reach new heights. A powerful business entity, Kanin does not shy away from adopting shady means to bury Thunder Express. However, in the real world, Komsan and the Flash Express have not come across such villainous characters in their journey. It is the founder’s grit and determination, along with smart policies, that have propelled the company forward. The introduction of an antagonist is a creative liberty taken by the showrunners to make the narrative more engaging. However, ‘Mad Unicorn’ remains true in spirit with the real journey of the unicorn startup.
Read More: Mad Unicorn Ending Explained: Who Wins the Mally Partnership? Who is the Mole?
