Flash Express - Thailand’s First Unicorn And The Emerging Business Model
Delivery and e-commerce have become highly competitive fields in Southeast Asia. How did Thai startup Flash Express succeed and also achieve in becoming Thailand’s first unicorn?
At a glance
Annual Revenue
US$323.6 million
as of December 2020
Total Funding
US$350 million
as of June 2021
Industry
Logistics & E-Commerce
Year Founded
2017
Introduction
Komsan Lee was a young boy born into a poor family living in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Like any child, he had a dream. When his teacher asked them to present their dream jobs, his friends would say that they would want to become policemen, soldiers, or scientists. However, Komsan had an entirely different dream, simpler than most: to become someone who has money. While this sounded like a joke, Komsan’s family was poor and they struggled to make ends meet and would sometimes not even have electricity in the house. It was the most sound and reasonable answer he had during those circumstances. Despite the hardships he has faced, Komsan had an even stronger drive to succeed in changing his family and his own life.
In 2017, Komsan started and founded Flash Express, a startup logistics, and transportation company operating door-to-door pickup and delivery services. Komsan achieved his childhood dream far more than he could have ever imagined. Then in 2021, Konsam went even further. 4 years into the business and at the age of 29, Flash Express became Thailand’s first unicorn.
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