To say Didi Chuxing and Meituan-Dianping are household names in China would be an understatement. The former is a ride-hailing app that brokers 14 million-plus trips a day, while the latter accounts for more than half of online group buying transactions in the Middle Kingdom and boasts a towering 77 billion yuan valuation. The creation of these e-commerce giants was the brainchild of star tech investment banker Fan Bao.

Fan is the founder and CEO of China Renaissance, a boutique investment bank that also counts the 2014 Nasdaq...