Startup supports 3 major color themes for the components. Section backgrounds can be split up into black, white and colored. You should be able to use any of the Materialize colors but extra css should be used to customize the colors to your liking.
Color Themes
Black
White
Light
Colored
<div class="section black">
<h3>Black</h3>
</div>
<div class="section white">
<h3>White</h3>
</div>
<div class="section light">
<h3>Light</h3>
</div>
<div class="section red">
<h3>Colored</h3>
</div>