diff --git a/cmd/api/main.go b/cmd/api/main.go
index adf9507..d81e84b 100644
--- a/cmd/api/main.go
+++ b/cmd/api/main.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/rs/zerolog/log"
+	"gorm.io/gorm"
 
 	"github.com/treytartt/mycrib-api/internal/config"
 	"github.com/treytartt/mycrib-api/internal/database"
@@ -34,10 +35,18 @@ func main() {
 		Int("port", cfg.Server.Port).
 		Msg("Starting MyCrib API server")
 
-	// Connect to database
-	db, err := database.Connect(&cfg.Database, cfg.Server.Debug)
+	// Connect to database (retry with backoff)
+	var db *gorm.DB
+	for i := 0; i < 5; i++ {
+		db, err = database.Connect(&cfg.Database, cfg.Server.Debug)
+		if err == nil {
+			break
+		}
+		log.Warn().Err(err).Int("attempt", i+1).Msg("Failed to connect to database, retrying...")
+		time.Sleep(time.Duration(i+1) * 2 * time.Second)
+	}
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Fatal().Err(err).Msg("Failed to connect to database")
+		log.Fatal().Err(err).Msg("Failed to connect to database after retries")
 	}
 	defer database.Close()
 
@@ -46,12 +55,15 @@ func main() {
 		log.Fatal().Err(err).Msg("Failed to run database migrations")
 	}
 
-	// Connect to Redis
-	cache, err := services.NewCacheService(&cfg.Redis)
+	// Connect to Redis (optional - don't fail if unavailable)
+	var cache *services.CacheService
+	cache, err = services.NewCacheService(&cfg.Redis)
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Fatal().Err(err).Msg("Failed to connect to Redis")
+		log.Warn().Err(err).Msg("Failed to connect to Redis - caching disabled")
+		cache = nil
+	} else {
+		defer cache.Close()
 	}
-	defer cache.Close()
 
 	// Initialize email service
 	var emailService *services.EmailService