---
title: Centaur - Definition & Examples | RGM® Glossary
url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/centaur/
updated: 2026-06-10
source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/centaur/
---

Growth Glossary — Definition

SHT CENTAUR

# Centaur

SaaS company at $100M ARR. A working definition from the RGM marketing glossary.

SaaS company at $100M ARR.

Term
:   Centaur

Field
:   Venture Capital

Category
:   Capital & Investing

## What it means

One idea, plainly put.Centaur means a capital concept. The value is in a shared, precise definition, not in knowing the word.

SaaS company at $100M ARR.

Centaur sits in Capital & Investing; it is a capital concept. Define it once and the reporting holds together.

## How operators apply it

Hold that thought.Centaur works one way for a lean team and another for a large one. The mechanics follow the context.

Centaur behaves unlike a fixed rule. An early-stage brand and a mature one will apply Centaur on different terms. The mechanics follow the inputs around it. Treat Centaur as a buzzword and the reporting misleads; agree on it and the numbers hold.

Keep the order simple: define Centaur for your context, then decide how to act. Reverse it and the budget chases a number nobody agreed on. Pick one definition.

## The decisions it touches

Look at it this way.Use Centaur when it changes a choice. If it is not driving a decision, it is vocabulary, not leverage.

Centaur matters at the point of a decision. In capital & investing, three moments come up again and again. Outside them, Centaur is reference material.

1. **Setting budget.** Centaur guides the team toward the better-paying line.
2. **Choosing a metric.** Centaur tells you if the read reflects real effect.
3. **Comparing options.** Centaur keeps a head-to-head from fooling the reader.

## A worked example

Start here.To make Centaur concrete, the case below uses a Bessemer-tracked SaaS firm and figures from public reporting plus RGM analysis.

Consider a Bessemer-tracked SaaS firm. Running a rule-of-40 screen, the team put Centaur at the center of the call. With a clean baseline and one fixed definition of Centaur, they read what moved: durable growth separated from cash-burn growth. The discipline is the lesson.

The numbers behind Centaur -- illustrative only, RGM analysis

| Stage | Action | What it bought |
| Baseline | Read the starting point before any change to Centaur. | Something concrete to compare to. |
| Define | Fixed one meaning of Centaur for the test. | A shared definition up front. |
| Act | A rule-of-40 screen — one variable. | Cause and effect, isolated. |
| Result | Durable growth separated from cash-burn growth | A decision the data earned. |

These Centaur numbers are illustrative -- RGM analysis. The structure travels; the specific figures do not.

## Where teams go wrong

Start here.Most mistakes with Centaur share a root: the term gets reported as if it were exact when it is not.

- **One-size thinking.** Using Centaur flat across every segment. The right cut differs by channel and margin.
- **Bare numbers.** Showing Centaur on its own. Context is what makes it readable.
- **Wrong target.** Treating Centaur as the goal. The goal is the outcome it predicts.
- **Bad compares.** Benchmarking Centaur with no adjustment. Account for the model differences first.

## Common questions

How is Centaur defined?

SaaS company at $100M ARR. In short, fix that meaning before any tactic is debated.

What makes Centaur worth knowing?

Centaur shows up in budget reviews and channel reporting. Use it loosely and teams pull apart; use it precisely and the numbers line up.

Where does Centaur get used?

Centaur informs a decision -- most often a budget, a metric choice, or a comparison. The a Bessemer-tracked SaaS firm example above shows the pattern.

What goes wrong with Centaur most often?

Treating Centaur as one blanket rule and reporting it with no baseline. Both hide a soft assumption.

How is Centaur defined?
:   SaaS company at $100M ARR. In short, fix that meaning before any tactic is debated.

What makes Centaur worth knowing?
:   Centaur shows up in budget reviews and channel reporting. Use it loosely and teams pull apart; use it precisely and the numbers line up.

Where does Centaur get used?
:   Centaur informs a decision -- most often a budget, a metric choice, or a comparison. The a Bessemer-tracked SaaS firm example above shows the pattern.

### Keep reading

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