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" He has managed, consulted for, and founded many ventures in Silicon Valley, which contributed to various game, web TV, and online advertising technologies before becoming part of Microsoft in 2001, when it acquired one of his startups. "

Could someone paraphrase this sentence? I am confused which become part of Microsoft.

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  • The sentence is ungrammatical. "Has since managed...before becoming".
    – TimR
    Commented Oct 13, 2014 at 12:49
  • If the previous sentence listed a prior accomplishment, then the "since" could be referring to that by implication. For instance, "He graduated from Harvard University in 1989. He has since managed etc." As it is, the since would be missing a subject.
    – user11628
    Commented Nov 12, 2014 at 19:59

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The sentence is a little too complex to easily understand. The author clearly wants to impress you with how much the person has accomplished prior to joining Microsoft. If we eliminate some of the complexity, the sentence is clearer:

"He has [worked many jobs], which contributed to various [...] technologies before becoming part of Microsoft in 2001, when it acquired one of his startups. "

To make it even more clear, we can separate the ideas:

"In 2001 Microsoft acquired one of his startups. Before becoming part of Microsoft, he [worked many jobs], which contributed to various [...] technologies."

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The sentence is not grammatical. Reverse it and the ungrammaticality becomes clearer:

Before becoming part of Microsoft in 2001, when it acquired one of his startups, he afterwards ...

That is, before he joined Microsoft in 2001, when it acquired one of his startup companies, he afterwards...

"Since" here = afterwards

One of his startups = one of the companies he founded and managed during that company's early days

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    I see you have now removed the word "since" from the passage, which formerly began "He has since managed..." Etiquette asks that you make note of such a deletion when someone has already answered your question, referring to the content you are about to delete.
    – TimR
    Commented Oct 13, 2014 at 12:57
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You are right to be confused. One says that the PERSON "joins" Microsoft when the COMPANY "becomes part of" Microsoft. The sentence needs to say "joined" (referring to the person) or else needs to be rephrased or broken up so that the "startup" becomes the subject, not "he".

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