Sebastian Grotemade with pola
Connect on LinkedInContact
DEEN

Founder of Isleño Island Homes, Palma

Sebastian
Grote

He built his companies in Germany and made his home in Mallorca. With Isleño, he finds, renovates and hands over apartments under €500,000, where founders and remote workers can live and work from day one.1,2

Isleño has already accompanied people through their fresh start in Mallorca, and the number keeps growing.1

Sebastian Grote works on a laptop in an Isleño apartment with a view over Palma to the sea

Under €500,000: Every Isleño apartment is renovated, furnished and has a workspace with 500 Mbit fiber-optic internet.2

Since 2013 a shareholder in his own companies in Germany, and since 2023 with Isleño in Mallorca and Menorca.1

Talk to him about

  • Moving to Mallorca and working from here
  • Apartments in Palma and on Menorca
  • Spotting real estate with potential
  • Building franchise systems
View apartments at IsleñoConnect with Sebastian on LinkedIn
Isleño

Apartments you can live in right away.

Isleño buys apartments in Palma and on Menorca, strips them back to the shell and refits them: Mediterranean light, natural stone, a dedicated workspace, fast internet. Residents bring only their laptop, with no hassle with estate agents and no months of remote construction work.1,2

Workspace with a wooden desk and a paned window in a renovated Isleño apartment
Covered roof terrace with a pergola and seating area
Bright living room with wooden flooring and linen curtains
40+
Helped people move to Mallorca1
500 Mbit
Fiber optic in every apartment, plus a dedicated workspace2
< €500K
per apartment, in Mallorca as well as on Menorca2
20
Locations worldwide, the goal for Isleño1,5
„If it’s not good enough for me to work from all day, it’s not good enough for our community.“On LinkedIn, June 2026, from the newest apartment2

It began during the Covid period as a side project: buying and renovating a few apartments. Demand was so great that it became Isleño Island Homes in February 2023.1,5

Where he buys

He buys the story behind an apartment.

Purchase price, rent, renovation, yield: everyone calculates that. He also asks why an apartment is still available, what is wrong with it, and what will make it more valuable in three to five years.2

PALMA · PERE GARAU

Away from the hotspots

Market hall, train station and beach within walking distance, neighbors who stay all year round. While everyone is fighting over Santa Catalina, interest is growing here.2

PALMA · EL TERRENO

Value through what can be

50 m², one bedroom, furnished: an apartment that draws its value from its location and its potential.2

MENORCA

Quieter, slower, more authentic

Isleño's second island. In August 2026, another apartment there went to new owners.2

In his words

„We aren’t retiring. We are just refusing to wait until we’re 65 to actually live.“

On LinkedIn, June 20262

„Hustle is not a long term thing – a flat in Mallorca is.“

His line on LinkedIn1

„I built my career in Germany. I built my home in Mallorca.“

On LinkedIn, September 20262

„It’s the space. Space to think. Space to work.“

Why so many entrepreneurs are moving to Mallorca, August 20262

The Person Behind Isleño

A founder who tries out living there himself.

Sebastian Grote sits on a natural stone wall in front of bougainvillea, the sea in the background
Mallorca, June 2026
Sebastian Grote sits on a rock in a bay at sunset
A bay in Mallorca
Sebastian Grote speaks in front of an audience, a screen behind him
Founders' Kite Club, Portugal
Kites above a beach in Portugal
A week with around 40 founders
Desk by the window with a sea view in an Isleño apartment
Workspace with a sea view
  • Trial living. Before an apartment is offered, he works in it himself for a few days. The Wi-Fi, coffee and desk have to be right.2
  • The wind is the boss. In June he spent a week with the Founders' Kite Club in Portugal, around 40 founders and investors who kitesurf. When the wind comes up, every conversation ends mid-sentence.2
  • German thoroughness, Mediterranean design. This is how he himself describes what defines Isleño: German building standards, design from the island.2
  • Three languages. Besides German, he speaks English and Spanish fluently enough to negotiate; on LinkedIn he writes in English.1,2
Away from work

Once a year he hikes with his parents.

Every year they walk a long distance together; in 2026 it was a stretch of the Camino de Santiago. He almost didn't have the time for it. After two or three days, his head cleared. At the table, he writes, they are not good at sitting together for long; on the trail, with the same destination every day, they found each other.2

Sebastian Grote with a cap and backpack on a dirt track along the Camino de Santiago
Camino de Santiago, autumn 2026
Sebastian Grote smiling in a patch of forest by a stream
Green hills and a village in northern Spain under fleecy clouds
A calm river between rocks, reflecting the sky
Kitesurfer on the sea off the coast of Portugal
Kitesurfing in Portugal
"Time is finite. Don’t postpone the things that really matter."After the Camino de Santiago, October 20262
  • The journey is the destination. What he took away: those who know the destination find it easier to walk together. And even what seems unreachable is always just one step after another.2
  • Growth, what for? Along the way he asked himself why we always want higher, faster, further, and how much of that makes sense and how much is ego.2
  • His book recommendation. "Four Thousand Weeks" by Oliver Burkeman, about the limited time of a life.2
  • The next tour. One thing must not happen after the trip, he writes: disappearing straight back into work without planning the next one.2
Career

First marketing, then franchising, then the island.

At 18
The first company
An online marketing agency, founded together with a school friend, with a focus on lead generation. Trained as a communications specialist (Kommunikationswirt) at the Akademie für Absatzwirtschaft.1,5,10
Afterwards
Gecco Media and "Erfolgreiche Fahrschule"
As managing director of Gecco Media, he builds up the network "Erfolgreiche Fahrschule": driving schools advertise under a shared brand, with website and marketing from a single source. According to his website, around 200 driving schools with about 450 branches.4,7,10
2013
Orbit Futura
Shareholder of Orbit Futura GmbH: investments, real estate, franchising and marketing, without being involved in day-to-day operations himself.1
2016
Software for franchise partners
In an interview with FranchisePORTAL, he presents Goalcampus, software intended to automate the success of franchise partners.8
2018
Entrepreneur and coach in Mallorca
He works as a growth & freedom coach with entrepreneurs and founders.9
2019
wow family
With wow family GmbH from Munich, he brings organic hair care to the German market and advises companies on digital business.1
Feb 2023
Isleño Island Homes
A few renovated apartments turn into a company: move-in-ready apartments for founders and remote workers.1,5
2026
Two islands, a larger team
Apartments in Palma and on Menorca. In September, Isleño is looking for a content creator to tell the story of the brand.2
Getting in touch

Topics where a conversation with Sebastian is worthwhile.

Moving to Mallorca
Which neighborhood suits which kind of life, what €500,000 means in different places, and what daily life as an entrepreneur on the island looks like.
Real estate with potential
Why an apartment is still available and what it could be worth in five years.
Franchise and systems
From a network for driving schools to Isleño at 20 locations.

What he likes to talk about

  • "Which neighborhood in Palma would you buy in today?"
  • "What makes an apartment a good workplace?"
  • "What does kitesurfing teach you about entrepreneurs?"

The counter keeps running.

His goal: Isleño apartments in 20 locations worldwide, as a franchise system with central management.1,5

More MenorcaAfter the sale in August, more apartments on the island2
Content creator wantedIsleño will soon tell its story itself2
Guide and newsletterFor everyone considering the move, on isleno.es1
View apartments at IsleñoConnect with Sebastian on LinkedIn
Sources