What is the difference?
Bessemer's Efficiency Score vs Cash Conversion Score
Bessemer Efficiency Score
Cash Conversion Score
What is it?
Bessemer Efficiency Score is a measure of capital efficiency that tracks net new ARR against net burn for a given period. This metric showcases the incremental ARR dollars added for every dollar of burn, effectively measuring a company’s spending habits.
Cash Conversion Score is used by investors to measure the return on invested capital for startups. It is calculated by dividing current ARR by the difference between total raised capital and cash on hand. Essentially, this metric gives the return on each dollar invested in a company.
Who is it for?
Categories
Formula
Example
A company records $1 million in net new ARR and $600K net burn in a given year, resulting in a Bessemer Efficiency Score of 1.7x. This indicates that the company’s capital efficiency has reached the “best” range of scores.
Say a company has generated ARR of $9 million by the end of the year, with $11 million capital raised and $3 million cash at hand. In this scenario, the company's Cash Conversion Score would be 1.1, often denoted as 1.1x meaning that the company saw a return of $1.1 dollars for each dollar invested.
Published and updated dates
Date created: Oct 12, 2022
Latest update: Mar 18, 2024
Date created: Oct 12, 2022
Latest update: Mar 17, 2025