Doing missions to WOOHP HQ rewards you with intel instead of money.
Am idiot who must have skipped that first time it was said. Later in the game, it says it, to what I assume is a second time- and I followed it then lol. In general the game is quite idiot proof as it repeats stuff as when you need it done, so I'm sure it was said the first time I was just one handing it :3.
My only suggestion might be a message that more explicitly tells you to run missions when you fail to meet the requirement (when I didn't have enough intel it told me but I wasn't sure where to go to get intel, because I was like "I'm at the HQ"... what the heck is going on?), or perhaps even a button and it just throws you into the mission menu screen with the HQ selected like "LOOK, LOOK AT IT". Rub players nose in it like a bad dog haha. . . .
For me I was thrown off because I thought this is the HQ so.. I cant earn intel here I have to spend it . . this makes no sense, and then was like "Miiissioonn.." derp. Because they all seem like missions to me, the keyword was lost on me for a second, as well as being used to spending intel on the missions until then so my brain wasn't thinking "go to the place where you usually spend intel, to make intel".
Anyway, thanks for the response, it's a me problem lol - you made a good game.