diff --git a/start.sh b/start.sh
index f81c2815..f9a4d9df 100755
--- a/start.sh
+++ b/start.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,30 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
-echo "Starting kippo in the background...\n"
-cd $(dirname $0)
-twistd -y kippo.tac -l log/kippo.log --pidfile kippo.pid
+set -e
 
+cd $(dirname $0)
+
+if [ "$1" != "" ]
+then
+    VENV="$1"
+
+    if [ ! -d "$VENV" ]
+    then
+        echo "The specified virtualenv \"$VENV\" was not found!"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
+    if [ ! -f "$VENV/bin/activate" ]
+    then
+        echo "The specified virtualenv \"$VENV\" was not found!"
+        exit 2
+    fi
+
+    echo "Activating virtualenv \"$VENV\""
+    . $VENV/bin/activate
+fi
+
+twistd --version
+
+echo "Starting kippo in the background..."
+twistd -y kippo.tac -l log/kippo.log --pidfile kippo.pid