Your credit score follows you. Your business score follows your business. While they’re related, they’re remarkably different—and understanding those differences is crucial for funding success.
Personal Credit Score (FICO)
Your personal credit score ranges from 300-850 and is calculated by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. It evaluates your personal borrowing habits: credit card payments, mortgage history, auto loans, and payment timeliness. Lenders use this to assess your personal financial reliability.
Business Credit Score (Paydex)
Your business credit score, often called a Paydex score through Dun & Bradstreet, ranges from 0-100. It’s calculated differently, focusing on your company’s payment patterns to vendors and creditors. A business with a 3-year track record of on-time payments can have an excellent business score even if the founder’s personal credit is mediocre.
Why Both Matter
For startup funding, lenders often review both. However, their weight shifts as your business matures. A new company with excellent personal credit but no business credit history is riskier. A 5-year-old company with an excellent business score but fair personal credit is often fundable. This is why building business credit early matters—it becomes your company’s financial passport.
The Strategic Approach
The Bottom Line
As your business grows, business credit becomes increasingly important. Eventually, it may matter more than your personal score. Start building it now so you’re never limited by the credit profile you inherit from your early entrepreneurial years.
Check your business credit report today at Dun & Bradstreet. Knowing where you stand is the first step to improving.
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