Learn Russian: Компания бы рухнула, если бы не сплочённость команды. - The company would have collapsed if it weren't for the cohesion of the team.

This is the core rule for the phrase если бы не (if it weren't for / had it not been for). When you use this specific conditional construction, the noun or pronoun immediately following it must take the Nominative case, not the Genitive. It acts as the subject of the implied condition, rather than the object of a negative verb.

Does the phrase если бы не only refer to the past, or can it be used for the present too?

It works for both! Russian conditionals with бы do not have separate forms for past versus present hypotheticals. The time frame is determined by context. Because the main clause here implies a past action with рухнула, we know it means 'if it hadn't been for'. If the context were present tense, the exact same phrase would mean 'if it weren't for'.

Why is the first бы placed right after Компания instead of after the verb?

The particle бы is highly mobile and often naturally falls into the second position in a clause. Placing it right after Компания establishes the conditional mood immediately for the listener. While Компания рухнула бы is also completely correct, putting бы early in the sentence is extremely common in natural Russian flow.

What is the nuance of the verb рухнула here? Could we just say the company closed?