Earlier this year he was dumpster diving and living in bushland in Darwin but Sydneysider Nathan Murphy has launched a new online business that he hopes will help drag him out of the hole of youth homelessness.

Murphy, 19, has long had a testy relationship with his parents, particularly his mother, who kicked him out of home three months ago. He had only returned home for two days to see his father, who had just had a heart attack, before he was asked to leave.

Before that he was living on the streets with two friends in Darwin and Melbourne. "We did what we had to do to survive, like dumpster diving ... it wasn't legal where we were sleeping - we set up a few cardboard boxes and candles," he said.

Ironically, going back home to Sydney only to be kicked out was a blessing in disguise. He contacted the Salvation Army which provided him crisis accommodation at its Oasis centre in Surry Hills and set him up on programs to tap into his entrepreneurial spirit and help him reach his potential.