A new book by Max Noble

The Laws of BANKRUPT How Giants Fall

Every great company that fell broke a law nobody had written down. This book writes them down, so yours never has to learn them the hard way.

Published31 October 2027

Reserve a signed first edition Read the first 10 laws free →

500 signed, numbered first editions. Reserving is free; reserved readers get first access when pre-orders open in spring 2027.

Why this book

Giants rarely fall in a day. They fall for years, in plain sight, while everyone is busy.

The warning signs are almost always there: in the accounts, in the promises, in the small print. The same mistakes return, decade after decade, in shops and airlines, banks and tech darlings. The Laws of BANKRUPT turns those mistakes into laws a leader can carry into Monday morning.

What a law looks like · BANKRUPT Law No. 2

Never Mistake an Order for Payment

Three friends once mined crypto on an office pool table. A few years later their company, CoreWeave, held $104 billion of orders from the biggest names in AI, the kind of number that makes bankers go weak at the knees. Then came the catch. Every order needed a building full of chips before it paid a cent, and the buildings were bought with borrowed money. Between April and June 2026 the business earned $128 million from running its computer rooms, and paid $640 million in interest. An order is money promised for later. The lender wants his money now. Count cash, not promises.

— Max Noble

The Case · The ReversalIn the book. The free preview gives you the law and its opening. Read every opening →

The LawOne command you can remember.

The JudgmentWhy it holds, in a few plain lines.

The CaseA real company that broke it, told from the sources.

The ReversalWhen the law does not apply. Wisdom has edges.

Written in public

The book is being written every morning.

Each day the Morning Warning List names the companies showing danger signs. Each new company teaches one law. The best of them become the book. You can watch it grow, and read every law the day it is found.

10laws written

10cases told

2morning editions

The first edition

Front and back.

Hardback · 500 signed, numbered first editions · Published 31 October 2027

Who it is for

For everyone responsible for a company that must not fall.

Founders and CEOs

See the danger in your own numbers before your lender does.

Boards and chairs

Ask the questions that would have saved the companies in this book.

Leaders and managers

Laws you can use in the next budget meeting, not just admire.

Students of business

Strategy taught the way it is really learned: through the fall.

Reserve now

Be a founding reader.

The first edition is 500 signed, numbered copies. Founding readers are first in line, and they get the book while it is being written.

First access to the 500 signed first editionsNumbered and signed by the author. You can pre-order before the public, in spring 2027.
Every new law, the day it is writtenDelivered with the Morning Warning List at 05:00.
The first chapter, spring 2027Read it months before anyone else.
A live Q&A with Max NobleOne online session for founding readers, before launch.
Your name in the bookFounding readers who pre-order the first edition are thanked by name in the acknowledgements.

Reserve your copy

The author

Max Noble

Author of First Impressions – The 42 Laws of First Impressions

Max Noble holds an MSc in Applied Economics and Finance from Copenhagen Business School. Before he taught strategy, he worked in internal controls management and consulting, where he saw from the inside how companies guard against failure, and how they miss it. He lectures in business strategy, hosts BANKRUPT, and has given keynotes across Europe and the United States. Every morning he publishes the Morning Warning List, and every list adds a page to this book.

Study the fallen. They paid for the lesson, so you don’t have to.

— Max Noble

Beyond the book

Read the laws. Then put your own company to the test.

01 · FreeThe laws so farEvery BANKRUPT Law, as it is written. 02 · Two minutesThe danger testHow exposed is your company? 03 · For leadership teamsThe Strategy WarroomFind the weak spot before it finds you. 04 · For your peopleKeynotes and team copiesHow Giants Fall, live on stage.

Questions

Before you reserve

When is the book out?

On 31 October 2027. The scariest day of the year felt right for a book about how companies fall.

Does reserving cost anything?

No. Reserving is free and commits you to nothing. When pre-orders open in spring 2027, reserved readers are told first and can order one of the 500 signed copies before the public.

What will it cost?

The planned price is €29 for the hardback and €39 for the signed, numbered first edition, limited to 500 copies. Final prices and formats are confirmed when pre-orders open in spring 2027, and reserved readers hear first.

Can I read some of it now?

Yes. Every BANKRUPT Law is published as it is written, with the real case behind it. Start with the first 10.

Can my company order copies for the team?

Yes. Choose "10 or more" when you reserve, and we will contact you about team copies. A keynote can be booked alongside: enquire here.

Is this investment advice?

No. The laws and cases are Max Noble's analysis of how businesses succeed and fail, based on public sources. They never say what to buy or sell.

31 October 2027

Learn the laws before your company has to.

Reserve one of 500 signed, numbered first editions today. It's free, and you'll receive every new law while the book is being written.