diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/start b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/start
index 1d49dfcf8..cad41c92a 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/start
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/start
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ set -o errexit
 set -o pipefail
 set -o nounset
 
+{%- if cookiecutter.include_custom_app %}
+python manage.py makemigrations {{ cookiecutter.custom_app_name }}
+python manage.py loaddata --app {{ cookiecutter.custom_app_name }} initial_data.json
+{%- endif %}
 
 python manage.py migrate
 {%- if cookiecutter.use_async == 'y' %}