All companies have a story to tell. In some way, this story has to do with the founders of the company. In a company that has managed to survive some years, there is reason to question which story is the one we want to tell. It is important that the story finally communicated attracts and maintains the support and confidence of customers, financiers, and society at large, since it is the story that informs people about the identity of the company. Using an interpretative qualitative method, five cultural factors were found to affect early corporate identity: vision, aesthetics, play, charisma and trust, of which entrepreneurial vision and aesthetics were especially important. Interviews with founders and managers of small real estate business companies revealed seven corporate identities.