E-2 does not impose a fixed employee count before filing. Assess whether the enterprise has the present or future capacity to provide more than a minimal living for the investor and family, or a significant economic contribution. Hiring projections should follow supportable workload and financial assumptions. A list of planned positions alone does not establish that capacity.
Let the workload set the headcount
Start from the tasks the business must perform each week and count the hours honestly. Where the hours exceed what the owner can cover, a role exists; where they do not, adding one weakens the forecast without strengthening anything. Write the resulting plan as a sequence tied to trading milestones.
That version survives questioning, and it also happens to be the plan an owner would want commercially. Write the resulting plan as a sequence tied to trading milestones rather than to calendar years, because that version survives questioning and happens also to be the plan an owner would want commercially. No fixed employee count is required before filing.
What is assessed is whether the enterprise has the present or future capacity to provide more than a minimal living for the investor and family, and a list of planned positions alone does not establish that capacity.