diff --git a/backend/app.py b/backend/app.py
index 5bac3a1..12ce81e 100644
--- a/backend/app.py
+++ b/backend/app.py
@@ -20,9 +20,10 @@ from slowapi.middleware import SlowAPIMiddleware
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("uvicorn.error")
 
+
 @asynccontextmanager
 async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
-    # Startup - run migration in separate process to avoid logging interference
+    # Startup - run migration in subprocess to avoid logging interference
     try:
         logger.info("Starting database migration check...")
         # Run migration in a separate process
@@ -37,10 +38,10 @@ async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
     except Exception as e:
         logger.error(f"Failed to run database migrations: {e}")
         raise
-    
+
     try:
         with SessionLocal() as db:
-            owner = db.query(User).filter(User.username == OWNER_USERNAME).first()
+            owner = db.query(User).filter(User.id == 1).first()
             if owner and not owner.verified:
                 owner.verified = True
                 db.commit()
diff --git a/backend/migration.py b/backend/migration.py
index a085580..c8d67c6 100644
--- a/backend/migration.py
+++ b/backend/migration.py
@@ -20,18 +20,33 @@ def run_migrations():
     Fully automated - handles all scenarios automatically.
     """
     try:
+        # FIRST: Check if database has any application tables (excluding alembic_version)
+        engine = create_engine(DATABASE_URL)
+        with engine.connect() as connection:
+            from sqlalchemy import inspect
+            inspector = inspect(connection)
+            existing_tables = [table for table in inspector.get_table_names()
+                             if not table.startswith('sqlite_') and table != 'alembic_version']
+
+        # If no application tables exist, create them directly from models
+        if not existing_tables:
+            logger.info("No application tables found. Creating all tables directly from models...")
+            from models import Base
+            Base.metadata.create_all(bind=engine)
+            logger.info("All tables created successfully from models.")
+
         # Get the directory where this script is located
         current_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
-        
+
         # Create Alembic configuration
         alembic_cfg = Config(os.path.join(current_dir, "alembic.ini"))
-        
+
         # Disable Alembic's logging configuration to avoid interfering with FastAPI
         alembic_cfg.set_main_option("configure_logging", "false")
-        
+
         # Set the database URL in the config
         alembic_cfg.set_main_option("sqlalchemy.url", DATABASE_URL)
-        
+
         # Check if any migration files exist
         versions_dir = os.path.join(current_dir, "alembic", "versions")