Hard-Tech Due Diligence

Which Hard-Tech Bets
Actually Pencil Out?

Due-diligence video essays on first-of-a-kind technologies — mechanism, maturity, real unit economics vs the incumbent, and a scored verdict. Bilingual, from an operator who has commercialized FOAK tech.

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21 Episodes

2 Languages

6 Platforms

1 Verdict per Episode

Listen on Spotify or YouTube.

Latest Episodes

One technology per episode — through the operator's checklist, to a verdict

Real Bet?

Deep Dives

Weekly Roundup Archive

All Episodes Bilingual

Every Episode Available in English + Chinese

Every episode is produced in both English and Mandarin Chinese — independently written and localized for each audience, not just translated.

Why Professionals Trust This Channel

What you won't get from tech hype or general business news

Industry Insider

Produced by a P.Eng. + MBA with 15+ years in energy and industrial tech — including commercializing first-of-a-kind technologies on three continents. Not journalism — operational insight.

Bilingual Bridge

Every episode in English AND Mandarin Chinese. We cover what's happening in Chinese markets that Western media misses — and vice versa. The full picture, not half of it.

Numbers, Not Hype

Every technology is scored on five axes and every number is cited. When the math doesn't work, the verdict says so: Real Bet, Watch, Not Yet, or Overhyped.

20 Minutes to a Verdict

One technology per episode, examined in depth. Decision-grade analysis sized for a commute — the structural picture, not the headlines.

The Operator's Checklist

Every episode runs one technology through the same five gates — then lands a verdict:

Mechanism

Maturity (TRL)

Unit Economics

Scale-Up Path

Moat, Team & Capital

The Verdict

About the Show

David Zheng, P.Eng., MBA — First-of-a-Kind Operator

Bankable is written by David Zheng — a professional engineer and MBA with 15+ years in energy and industrial technology. He spent six years in business development at Enerkem, a waste-to-fuels pioneer, closing first-of-a-kind commercial deals across a 13-country book — the kind of projects this show puts on the stand. Engineering, deal-making, and process economics, in one head, in two languages. Not journalism — an operator's read on which hard-tech bets actually pencil out. Formerly Decarbonize Weekly.

P.Eng. MBA Bilingual EN/ZH

Work with me — private due diligence →

Which Hard-Tech Bets Actually Pencil Out?