At just 26 years old, Doménique Wissink is redefining what luxury travel looks like. As founder of Extra Ibiza, he has built a fast-growing, high-end travel company that goes well beyond villas and yachts and uses psychological insights to curate deeply personalized experiences for discerning customers.
What started as a teenage side hustle has grown into a company that achieved 5,100% growth in just four years, all without external funding. Driven by instinct, creativity and a refusal to follow the traditional path, Wissink represents a new generation of entrepreneurs combining lifestyle, data and human connection to create something completely different in the luxury travel space.
What are you currently doing at Extra Ibiza?
At Extra Ibiza, I focus on building and growing the ecosystem around the company while protecting its human and creative soul. On the one hand, this means building partnerships with yacht owners, villa owners and other wealth partners so that we can offer a strong portfolio of experiences that are curated and in line with our customers’ desires. On the other hand, I spend a lot of time on strategy, marketing and brand development, ensuring that Extra continues to develop as a platform for curated holidays and experiences in Ibiza and beyond.
A big part of my role is connecting the different areas of the company. I work with partners, oversee new collaborations, lead the direction of the brand with the team and help shape the long-term vision of the company. At the same time, I stay close to the day-to-day business, be it developing new products, improving the sales process or expanding our network, and from time to time I come back to a customer request, which still gives me the joy we had when we just started.
Ultimately, my job is to continue to drive Extra forward, building the relationships, structures and ideas that enable the company to grow, while continuing to work with our outstanding team to create unforgettable experiences for the people who come to Ibiza.
What was the inspiration for your company?
The inspiration came from a contrast I experienced during my stay in Switzerland. From the outside everything looked extremely polished and luxurious, but very often it felt a bit hollow. I realized that what is presented as luxury is sometimes just a facade. This experience made me rethink what luxury actually means.
For me, real luxury is not about status or looks. It’s about time, curation and the people you share moments with. It is the ability to bring people together, to create environments where they can disconnect from the noise and simply enjoy being with the people they care about. In the end, no matter how successful someone becomes, we all sit at the same table and play Monopoly with family or friends. These moments are true luxury.
A lot of the inspiration also came from my friend and partner Jiel Dassen. Many of the ideas behind Extra came from conversations between us about creating something of our own. We wanted to build a brand and company that reflected our view of the world and allowed us to create the lives and experiences we believe in. Ibiza gave us the space to turn this vision into reality.
Who do you admire?
I’ve always admired people who build something with their bare hands and refuse to let go, no matter how hard it gets. The first people that come to mind are my grandparents. They were incredible businessmen who gave everything they could for what they built.
No shortcuts, no illusions, just work, risk and persistence. Hearing these stories as a child left a deep mark on my approach to business.
Additionally, I am attracted to people who completely step outside the box and go their own way, even if it makes others uncomfortable. The people who change industries or start new ones rarely fit exactly into expectations. They tend to be a little stubborn, a “bit” rebellious, and very confident in their own vision.
I’m far more interested in people like that than anyone who just sticks to the script. The world moves forward because of those who completely ignore the script.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
Looking back, I would have invested earlier in the right people and in a better structure around the team. When building something from the ground up, you tend to focus on the idea, the business and the growth, but the true strength of a company always depends on the people and how well they are managed. Better onboarding, clearer management and stronger internal systems are things I would prioritize sooner if I could start over.
I would also probably listen more to my partner Jiel. It’s incredibly valuable to have someone close to you who can challenge your thinking and bring a different perspective, especially when you’re moving forward quickly.
And on a more personal level, I would remind myself more often to be aware of the beautiful moments along the way. When building a business, it can be easy to always look ahead to the next step and forget to enjoy the journey itself. However, I’m only 26 years old, so I think I still have a lot of time to make mistakes, learn from them and do things differently more often.
What defines your way of doing business?
I tend to do business like a rocket. Fast, instinctive and always on the move. I like connecting things, meeting people, identifying opportunities and turning ideas into something real before most people have even finished talking about them.
I’ve never been particularly good at sitting still or waiting for the “perfect” moment. A large part of my approach is based on dynamics. When an opportunity presents itself, I prefer to take advantage of it, learn as I go and adapt as I fly.
The focus is on people. Almost everything in business depends on relationships, trust and energy. The right conversation at the right moment can open doors you didn’t even know existed. My job is often just to maintain that momentum and continue to bring together the right people, ideas and opportunities.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
Find the right partners. Business is rarely a solo journey (even though we sometimes feel like it), and the people you work with will shape both the outcome and the experience along the way. Surround yourself with people who complement you, challenge you and who genuinely enjoy building something together. It has to work both ways: be smart about who you work with and why!
Also, don’t be afraid to take risks. Most people wait for certainty, but certainty almost never comes, and when it does come, you can be sure that it is too late. If you believe in something, keep going, learning as you go and adapting along the way.
And keep perspective. We are literally floating on a rock through space, so the idea that everything has to be perfectly controlled is an illusion. Take things seriously, but not so seriously that you stop yourself from trying. For most people, the biggest regrets are usually not the things they did, but the things they never dared to do.
