Techie wanted half-time work to build his distillery, but Spotify denied. His next move was resignation

More employees are rethinking the idea that a successful career has to mean working full-time, especially when they have a business or another interest they want to spend more time on. That is what happened with Danish tech professional Rasmus Dall, who decided to leave his job at Spotify after the company rejected his request to work half-time so he could focus on building his own distillery.

Dall, who worked as a research scientist at Spotify, had not planned to leave technology immediately. His idea was to split his time between his tech career and his distillery, which makes fruit and berry brandies from his own orchard. But when the half-time arrangement was denied, he chose to resign instead.

Dall wanted to use the extra time for his distillery

Dall shared the decision in a LinkedIn post, saying that his final day at Spotify had arrived and that he was not sure whether he would continue working in the technology industry.


“Today was my last day at Spotify and possibly my last day in tech,” he wrote.

The reason behind his decision was fairly straightforward. Dall wanted to have more time to develop his distillery, and instead of leaving his tech career altogether, he initially tried to find a way to do both.

“I wish to spend more time building my distillery and as such I asked to go half time,” he said. “This was denied and therefore I am no longer at Spotify.”

That left Dall with a choice between continuing in his full-time role or stepping away from it. He opted for the latter, giving himself more time to work on the distillery and his plans as a distiller.

The business is focused on fruit and berry brandies, with Dall looking to make use of produce from his own orchard. His decision means that something he had been pursuing alongside his technology career could now become the main focus of his working life.

He knows returning to tech may not be easy

Dall also appeared aware that leaving a full-time technology job could make it difficult to return to the same kind of career later, particularly if he continues looking for part-time work.

“Since companies seldom wish to hire half time employees, this might be it for me and tech. It's been a ride and I am looking forward to my next chapter as a distiller of fruit and berry brandies from my own orchard,” he wrote.

At the same time, he did not completely close the door on technology. Dall asked people in his LinkedIn network to get in touch if they knew about a suitable part-time position.

His message was therefore less about giving up work and more about changing how he wanted to work. He wanted enough time to build his own business, while still keeping the possibility of taking on some technology work.

“Otherwise, this is me, signing off from the hustle. Bye!” he said.

Post sparks discussion about flexible working

Dall's resignation later attracted attention on X, where the post reportedly received around half a million views. Much of the conversation focused on flexible working and the difference between full-time and part-time jobs in different countries.

Some users described Dall's post as “the most Scandinavian LinkedIn post ever”, pointing to Denmark's reputation for social security and a work culture that places importance on work-life balance.

Others said that part-time work is already becoming more common in parts of the technology industry. One user wrote, “I think you'll find that half-time, fractional employees are all the rage in tech these days (certainly in the startup world). There are opportunities out there if you want to do both. Best of luck on the next chapter!”

Another user suggested that Dall could consider consulting or contract-based work, saying, “You can definitely do some consulting or contractual part time work in startups.”

A third person went a step further and offered a potential opportunity, writing, “Need someone with your skills. Happy to talk about a part-time opportunity in my startup.”