LeverMap All calculators
Founders and operators

When does growth break the model?

The headcount your revenue actually supports, and the revenue you need before the next hire is affordable.

Your numbers

Starting numbers: A seed-stage software team of about a dozen people, deciding whether the next hire is affordable. Change anything below.

Everyone you pay today, founders included.

Fully loaded: salary, tax, tooling, desk.

The monthly revenue each person should support. A common target is a multiple of their cost.

What you bill in a typical month today.

Nothing you type leaves your browser.

People you carry beyond what revenue supports

—

People the revenue supports
—
Revenue needed before the next hire
—

How it's computed

About this calculator

Headcount affordability divides current MRR by a revenue-per-employee target to find the team size your revenue actually supports. Compare that to the headcount you already carry and the gap appears: a positive gap means payroll has run ahead of the business. The model also prices the next hire - the extra revenue you need before one more head fits under the same target - which turns a hiring debate into a single number. Pull the levers to match your team, your cost per head, and the revenue-per-employee bar you hold yourself to. The chain above shows how each figure is derived. When it matches your business, save the model to test hiring plans against revenue scenarios, and share it with your cofounders before the next offer letter goes out.

Related calculators

Default AliveWhether the funnel you already have, held flat, plateaus above your cost base - or never gets there.RunwayMonths of cash left, the raise or cut needed for a clean year, and how deep the hole gets - with growth doing part of the work.Sales Rep PaybackHow many months until a new sales rep covers their own cost - and what the ramp really costs you.

Every number on this page is computed live by the LeverMap engine.