diff --git a/apps/api/src/index.ts b/apps/api/src/index.ts
index 2af73cf2..b59259cb 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/index.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/index.ts
@@ -11,9 +11,8 @@ import { showRoutes } from 'hono/dev';
 async function startServer() {
   console.log('Starting server on port:', API_PORT);
 
-  // Connect to Redis before starting the server
+  // Connect to Redis (non-blocking: API starts even if Redis fails)
   await connectRedis();
-  console.log('Redis connected successfully');
 
   serve({ fetch: app.fetch, port: API_PORT });
 
diff --git a/apps/api/src/utils/redis/redis.ts b/apps/api/src/utils/redis/redis.ts
index 7fdbf274..098b7d37 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/utils/redis/redis.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/utils/redis/redis.ts
@@ -23,9 +23,17 @@ client.on('reconnecting', () => {
 let isConnected = false;
 
 export async function connectRedis(): Promise<void> {
-  if (!isConnected) {
+  if (!env.REDIS_URL) {
+    console.warn('REDIS_URL not set, Redis features disabled');
+    return;
+  }
+  if (isConnected) return;
+  try {
     await client.connect();
     isConnected = true;
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Redis connection failed, API will run without Redis:', error);
+    // Don't throw - allow API to start; rate limiting and caching will degrade gracefully
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/apps/dashboard/src/routes/org/[slug]/+layout.server.ts b/apps/dashboard/src/routes/org/[slug]/+layout.server.ts
index f15462c5..e1334ce1 100644
--- a/apps/dashboard/src/routes/org/[slug]/+layout.server.ts
+++ b/apps/dashboard/src/routes/org/[slug]/+layout.server.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-import { getOrgBySiteName } from '$features/org/api/org.server';
-import { getApiKeyHeaders } from '$lib/utils/services/api/server';
+import { PUBLIC_IS_SELFHOSTED } from '$env/static/public';
 import { env } from '$env/dynamic/private';
+import { getApiKeyHeaders } from '$lib/utils/services/api/server';
+import { getOrgBySiteName } from '$features/org/api/org.server';
 import { getSubdomain } from '$features/app/layout-setup';
 import { redirect } from '@sveltejs/kit';
 
@@ -12,7 +13,8 @@ export const load = async ({ params, url, cookies }) => {
   const isOrgSite = subdomain && !APP_SUBDOMAINS.includes(subdomain);
 
   // If this is LMS but user is on org site, redirect to LMS
-  if (isOrgSite) {
+  if (isOrgSite && PUBLIC_IS_SELFHOSTED !== 'true') {
+    console.log('isOrgSite redirecting to lms');
     redirect(307, `/lms`);
   }
 
@@ -20,11 +22,15 @@ export const load = async ({ params, url, cookies }) => {
   const cookieKey = `${ORG_ID_COOKIE_PREFIX}${siteName}`;
   const cachedOrgId = cookies.get(cookieKey);
 
+  console.log('cachedOrgId', cachedOrgId);
+  console.log('cookieKey', cookieKey);
+
   let orgId: string | undefined = cachedOrgId;
 
   if (!orgId) {
     const apiKeyHeaders = getApiKeyHeaders();
     const org = await getOrgBySiteName(siteName, apiKeyHeaders);
+    console.log('org', org);
     if (org?.id) {
       orgId = org.id;
 
@@ -37,6 +43,8 @@ export const load = async ({ params, url, cookies }) => {
     }
   }
 
+  console.log('returning orgId', orgId);
+
   return {
     orgName: siteName,
     orgId
diff --git a/apps/dashboard/src/routes/org/[slug]/+page.server.ts b/apps/dashboard/src/routes/org/[slug]/+page.server.ts
index 80d585f8..9cefd77f 100644
--- a/apps/dashboard/src/routes/org/[slug]/+page.server.ts
+++ b/apps/dashboard/src/routes/org/[slug]/+page.server.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ export const load = async ({ params, parent, cookies }) => {
       stats: null
     };
   }
+  console.log('cache', cache);
+  console.log('orgId', orgId);
+  console.log('siteName', siteName);
 
   if (cache[orgId]) {
     return {
@@ -21,11 +24,15 @@ export const load = async ({ params, parent, cookies }) => {
     };
   }
 
-  // Fetch dashboard stats
-  const statsResponse = await classroomio.dash.stats.$get({ query: { siteName } }, getApiHeaders(cookies, orgId));
-
-  const statsData = await statsResponse.json();
-  cache[orgId] = statsData.success ? statsData.data : null;
+  try {
+    console.log('fetching stats', cookies);
+    const statsResponse = await classroomio.dash.stats.$get({ query: { siteName } }, getApiHeaders(cookies, orgId));
+    const statsData = await statsResponse.json();
+    cache[orgId] = statsData.success ? statsData.data : null;
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Failed to fetch dashboard stats:', error);
+    cache[orgId] = null;
+  }
 
   return {
     orgName: siteName,
diff --git a/packages/db/package.json b/packages/db/package.json
index 31032f9e..a7efdff4 100644
--- a/packages/db/package.json
+++ b/packages/db/package.json
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     "build": "rm -rf dist tsconfig.tsbuildinfo && tsc && tsc-alias",
     "dev": "tsc --watch",
     "db": "drizzle-kit",
-    "db:reset": "tsx src/scripts/db-reset.ts",
+    "db:reset": "tsx src/scripts/db-reset.ts --skip-seed",
     "db:setup": "tsx src/scripts/db-setup.ts",
     "db:setup:seed": "tsx src/scripts/db-setup.ts --seed",
     "db:exercise-backfill": "tsx src/scripts/backfill-exercise-course.ts",