Nathan Altman: Reflections with a Liquid Democratic Candidate for US Senate

As a 30-year-old Indiana native, Nathan Altman has built a career on being an artist, maker and adventurer. When you see him in the community he’ll likely blend in with the hard-working people across our state, wearing a t-shirt and jeans—and the occasional layer of saw dust when he’s not in the office.

Born and raised in Carmel, Indiana, Nathan grew up like many Indiana boys—playing and watching sports, getting his hands dirty building projects out in the barn, and spending a lot of time exploring the neighborhoods. The Altman family has been in Indiana for generations with deep roots across the state. His parents, Jon and Christine Altman, have been fixtures in the central Indiana community, working in real estate, development, law, and public service. His grandfather and uncle bought and ran the Studebaker plant in South Bend, Indiana--producing the famous “Avanti II” until 1982. With graduates from Indiana University, Purdue University, and the University of Notre Dame, the Altman’s represent a host of Indiana institutions. The family remains close—living and working where Nathan grew up.

As he grew older, Nathan found and developed his passions, including robotics, design, and construction--all while fostering a role as a social organizer. Getting heavily involved in the innovative FIRST Robotics program at Carmel High School, Nathan began to really hone his creative and technical skills, while also learning to lead a team. He went on to design and build stage sets for the theatre department, and managed stage production of Cinderella. He was elected his freshman class president and went on to organize senior class charity events before graduation.

During this time in his life, he also found time to start his first business. Nathan took his lawn-mowing-money and bought his first mower. Then a bigger one. Then a truck and trailer. Altman Pro Lawn grew into a serious, profitable business before Nathan was old enough to even drive the truck.

Nathan went to Purdue University where he earned a degree in building and construction management in less than three years. Then he traveled the world--sometimes serving as crew on yachts sailing the high seas. He returned to help launch several new companies, invest in real estate with his dad and on his own, and to pour himself into the Indiana tech and development community.

In 2010, he launched DeveloperTown, creating the first DeveloperTown “office” with his own hands. He helped organize, design and build The Speakeasy—a co-working space now with four locations around Indianapolis. Nathan has made a habit of buying, re-designing, and revitalizing properties all over the state, turning them into new, innovative, and useful spaces.

With life, not everything works out the first time. Nathan launched a company called uFlavor, which while ultimately unsuccessful, taught many lessons that he has carried with him every day since. He went on to serve as COO for a successful start-up in San Francisco, Launch Media, as well as having his hands in a number of other entrepreneurial ventures.

Nathan's love of creating and building with communities led him to several large-scale Bay Area art projects. Because of his construction expertise, he volunteered with and went on to lead the 2015 Temple build at Burning Man. Burning Man organizes an annual gathering of nearly eighty thousand people who create a temporary city in the Nevada desert to experiment with art, community, friendship, and exploration. The challenging nature of the desert environment and the talented, driven community inspired Nathan to take a full-time role with the organization. In 2016, Nathan managed hundreds of volunteers in the public works division, and in 2017 he led the design and construction of the famous “burning man.” For his work, he was given the nickname “Mary Poppins,” which alluded to his ability to drop in and bring joy, creativity, and order to whatever he touches--leaving it better than he found it.