To get BitBot off the ground, there's some API-keys and the like in bot.json.example. move it to bot.json, fill in the API keys you want (and remove the ones you don't want - this will automatically disable the modules that rely on them.)
On first boot, he'll ask for a first server to connect to then exit. do `./start.py` again and he'll connect to that server and join #bitbot (to get him to join other channels, simply invite him to them.)