When capital is constrained and options are narrowing, what separates the companies that recover from those that don't? More often than not, it isn't the numbers — it's the willingness to make hard decisions before they become forced ones.

In this episode, Amanda Verner Thompson sits down with Rick Rosenbloom, founder and managing partner of Fuel Break Capital Partners, who has spent more than three decades across bankruptcy law, distressed investing, restructuring, and special situations advisory. Rick brings a forensic view of why companies fail — and what leaders, boards, and investors can do long before distress ever shows up in the financials.

The conversation moves from the discipline of decision-making under pressure to the human dynamics that decide outcomes: why most restructurings are operational and management problems dressed up as financial ones, why credibility and trust carry distressed situations, and why the judgment and relationships behind a deal still can't be handed to a model.

In this episode:

Why indecision is the costliest decision a leader can make
The forensic mindset: working backward from failure to find its real cause
Why restructuring is usually a leadership problem, not a financial one
How data and AI have leveled the playing field — and made financing more rigid
What credibility and trust actually determine when the stakes are high
What CEOs and boards should be doing before distress appears in the numbers

About the Guest

Rick Rosenbloom is founder and managing partner of Fuel Break Capital Partners. Over more than three decades, he has worked across bankruptcy law, distressed investing, restructuring, and special situations advisory, helping companies, boards, and investors navigate moments where judgment matters more than models. Trained as both a lawyer and an MBA, Rick now advises clients seeking capital outside the traditional bounds of banks and private equity, bringing deep market knowledge and a candid, reality-based approach to complex financing.

🔗 Connect with Rick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickrosenbloom/

About the Host

Amanda Verner Thompson is Founder & CEO of Madison Advisory AI, a boutique advisory firm working at the intersection of strategy, leadership, and AI in healthcare and behavioral health. With nearly two decades of healthcare investment banking experience, she advises founders and operators on sell-side M&A, capital raises, and ownership transitions. The Madison Advisory AI Podcast features candid conversations with the founders, operators, and investors shaping the future of healthcare and behavioral health.

🔗 Website: https://www.madisonadvisory.ai/ 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-verner-thompson/