A number of researchers have considered the entrepreneurial journey as a means to conceptualize entrepreneurship (Fayolle, 2013; Nabi, Liñán, Krueger, Fayolle, & Walmsley, 2017; Pittaway & Cope, 2007a). Here, the individual moves from early stage awareness and initial experience thorough to the consolidation and development of entrepreneurial skills, mind-set and performance (Carsrud & Brannback, 2009; Di Domenico, Elizabeth, & Daniel, 2014). A key focus of the early stage is the formation of entrepreneurial identity (Farmer, Yao, & Kung-Mcintyre, 2011; Murnieks, Mosakowski, & Cardonssa, 2014). However, few studies review the development of entrepreneurial identity, an area that has been described as being ‘exceptionally important’ to the field of enterprise education (Nabi et al., 2017). Entrepreneurial identity is just one of many parts that operate within a composite ‘super’ identity (Burke, 2001). Each particular identity comes with its own behavioral expectations that are defined, or imprinted, through various belief systems. These systems operate at an individual, interpersonal and group level, and entrepreneurial behavior will be a result of past experiences, observed behaviors, or conformity with a social group (Burke, 2003; Sluss & Ashforth, 2007). An individual will generally gain entrepreneurial awareness through observation before actually experiencing entrepreneurial behaviors for themselves. However, existing research has little to say about the transition from ‘observer to doer’ (Nabi, Holden, & Walmsley, 2010). Identity Conflict Theory suggests that when previously observed behavior conflicts with that experienced, the resulting discord may jeopardize the formation of the nascent entrepreneurial micro-identity (Shepherd & Haynie, 2009). Therefore, the contribution of this paper is to extend Identity Conflict Theory to explain the impact of the initial entrepreneurial experience on the salience of forming an entrepreneurial identity. Here, we expect that the nature of this experience (whether positive or negative) will exert a corresponding influence on salience.