diff --git a/backend/seed.py b/backend/seed.py
index 08d6cbb..0449ca2 100644
--- a/backend/seed.py
+++ b/backend/seed.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 """Seed demo data for ServeSync"""
 import sys
 import os
-sys.path.insert(0, '/app')
 
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 from app.database import engine, SessionLocal
diff --git a/backend/start.sh b/backend/start.sh
index acf4241..b24ed71 100644
--- a/backend/start.sh
+++ b/backend/start.sh
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ except Exception as e:
 done
 
 echo "Running seed..."
-python seed.py || echo "Seed already ran or error (continuing)"
+cd /app && python seed.py 2>&1 && echo "Seed complete" || echo "Seed failed or already ran (continuing)"
 
 echo "Starting server..."
 exec uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 352e997..689d9ac 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -7,11 +7,13 @@ services:
       POSTGRES_DB: servesync
       POSTGRES_USER: servesync
       POSTGRES_PASSWORD: servesync
+    volumes:
+      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U servesync"]
       interval: 5s
       timeout: 5s
-      retries: 5
+      retries: 10
 
   redis:
     image: redis:7-alpine
@@ -47,3 +49,6 @@ services:
       - backend
       - frontend
     restart: unless-stopped
+
+volumes:
+  pgdata: