Complex sentence: He started out as a mining apprentice in the Hunter Valley, in New South Wales, and set up his own business at age 26, building it up from a staff of one--himself--to a team of 25.
Split into simpler sentences: He started out as a mining apprentice in the Hunter Valley, in New South Wales, and set up his own business at age 26. He built it up from a staff of one--himself--to a team of 25.