When Paris Marchant left high school in Year Nine due to her depression, she could never have known the side-project she started would become a fashion empire with thousands of fans worldwide.
The then 15-year-old started Generation Outcast Clothing as an “outlet” for her anxiety and in just a few short months, turned it into a profitable business that eventually captured the attention of Kylie Jenner.
Appearing on Shark Tank with her business partner and boyfriend Lawrence Lees, the NSW teen told the Sharks how her clothing brand came to be.
"Outcast was a name that really resonated with myself when I founded it," the now-18-year-old said.
"I was 15, and I was working full-time. I was suffering through really bad depression and anxiety at the time. And Outcast was kind of just my outlet.
"And within three months we were shipping so many parcels worldwide, and it just grew really quickly."
The brand really got its big break in October 2015 when Paris tagged Kylie Jenner in an Instagram post explaining how she hoped to inspire others with depression. The star shared it with her millions of followers.
"This is so inspiring and you are so amazing," Kylie wrote on the post to her Instagram account, which was liked by more than 230,000 times in four hours.