You'd be surprised how absurd things can get, even for a little startup.
Usually it starts with the need to customize one tiny little thing about the off-the-shelf offering. Then, you find that you have to install some new bit of software, which requires a new driver, which requires an OS upgrade...and before you know it, you're on a yak-shaving expedition that ends with a new data center and a rack full of equipment. ;-)
For want of a word the localization was done in-house.
For want of a localization the installer was done in-house.
For want of an installer the deployment process was done in-house.
For want of a deployment process the server set-up was done in-house.
For want of a server set-up the development was lost.
And all for the want of a localized word.
When you're doing something novel, you're probably going to find places where the off-the-shelf tools don't do what you need.
I sounds like big company logic to me though. A Startup would just pay 6.95 per month to host their SVN repository.