Established in June 2002, Home Inn"s business model is very, simple. It operates small hotels in big cities that are painted in a warm, yellow color. Each hotel has approximately 120 tidy and clean rooms. Yet none of the first few venture capital (VC) investors Ji Qi, Home Inn"s thunder, approached want- ed to invest in his business. At that time, VC investors" focus was on the Internet, and Home Inn was completely different from the investment projects they had in mind.