diff --git a/start b/start
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..38e6867
--- /dev/null
+++ b/start
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "$0" )" && pwd )"
+
+if ! pip -V | grep "$SCRIPT_DIR/venv"; then
+    echo "Entering virtual environment..."
+    source $SCRIPT_DIR/venv/bin/activate
+fi
+
+if [[ "$1" == "prod" ]]; then
+    echo "Starting gunicorn production server..."
+    gunicorn -b 0.0.0.0:6969 "flaskr:create_app()"
+else
+    echo "Starting local dev server..."
+    export FLASK_ENV=development
+    export FLASK_APP=flaskr
+    flask run --host=0.0.0.0
+fi