Eighteen is not a magic number; it is the count where every question still reaches a coach without splitting attention. Beyond that, shy participants vanish.
We measured two cohorts before the cap and three after. Time-to-first-publish dropped, while coach burnout complaints nearly disappeared.
The downside is predictable: fewer seats per month. We publish calendars early so teams can plan procurement without surprise waitlists.
We still run async tracks for people who need flexibility, but the live cap is staying for now.