I assume the the people choosing the methods of communication for startups are capable of learning to use irssi or weechat, but both of those clients take quite a bit time to learn and require significant amounts of customization to make them truly comfortable. It isn't a good business decision to require your teams to learn to use these tools.
Is IRC an acceptable medium for a company? Maybe it can be. Is it wise? Not with tools like irssi.
Is IRC an acceptable medium for a company? Maybe it can be. Is it wise? Not with tools like irssi.