Add sales capacity when qualified demand exceeds current coverage and the cash plan can fund recruiting, ramp and the sales cycle.
Check whether the bottleneck is sales capacity or insufficient qualified demand. Add a small cohort of reps only after the existing team demonstrates repeatable conversion and the downside plan funds their ramp.
Conditions are Cloudy and worsening since Sep 30; revisit decisions made on the Sep 30 reading.
Hiring more reps cannot by itself repair weak demand or poor retention. Compare performance by tenure and territory so a few productive reps do not hide a weak ramp process. Set a company-specific payback limit against gross margin and available cash.
| Area | This week | Pause line | Resume line |
|---|---|---|---|
| HiringLines set by Funding pressure & Risk appetite | Limit hiring to backfills and mission-critical roles tied to delivery risk. | Pause linePause net-new hiring if funding pressure is above 76 or risk appetite falls below 44. Funding pressure is 90 now.past the line | Resume lineResume the held roles when funding pressure falls below 66 and risk appetite is above 54.24 pts away |
| SpendingLine set by Funding pressure | Put a payback figure on every discretionary line before approving it; 6 months is the bar. | Pause linePause new discretionary spend if funding pressure is above 76. Funding pressure is 90 now.past the line | Resume lineResume new spend when funding pressure falls below 66 and the payback figures still hold.24 pts away |
| New betsLines set by Funding pressure & Risk appetite | Keep only the experiments you can stop within a week, each with a review date. | Pause linePause new bets if risk appetite falls below 44 or funding pressure is above 76. Funding pressure is 90 now.past the line | Resume lineResume one stage at a time when risk appetite is above 54 and funding pressure falls below 66.24 pts away |
Conditions change if: Funding pressure falls 20 pts from 90 to 70 or below, or risk appetite falls 2 pts from 52 to 50 or below.
Change line 70
0 = easier funding · 100 = harder funding
On this signal alone: Money is tight — conserve cash, extend runway, defer big bets. Fundraising windows are narrow.
Change line 50
0 = risk-averse investors · 100 = risk-hungry investors
On this signal alone: Markets are selectively open — prove traction before scaling; get customer evidence before making large commitments.
Add [number] reps in [segment] within [cost envelope]. Pause the next cohort if [demand or ramp target] is missed. Resume after [conversion and cash evidence]. Owner: [name]. Review: [date].
Fill in the company inputs before using it as an approval.
Whether Weekly Brief — 2026-10-23 Conditions: Cloudy (money is available but pricey) Margin: within reach of the line (how far the scores sit from the line where conditions change) Source note: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DGS1MO Full brief: https://whether.work/
Data date: Oct 23, 2026 · freshness: Oct 25, 2026, 2:00 AM UTC.