diff --git a/src/kurtosis/kurtosis.go b/src/kurtosis/kurtosis.go
index 209fdeab..e3552840 100644
--- a/src/kurtosis/kurtosis.go
+++ b/src/kurtosis/kurtosis.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package kurtosis
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"fmt"
 	"os/exec"
 
 	"github.com/kurtosis-tech/kurtosis/api/golang/core/lib/enclaves"
@@ -22,7 +23,8 @@ func InitKurtosisContext() (KurtosisCtx, error) {
 		// Kurtosis engine is probably not running. Try to start it.
 		// TODO: avoid using the CLI for this
 		if exec.Command("kurtosis", "engine", "start").Run() != nil {
-			return KurtosisCtx{}, err
+			return KurtosisCtx{}, fmt.Errorf("failed to start Kurtosis engine: %w\n"+
+				"This might be because the docker daemon is not running", err)
 		}
 		ctx, err = kurtosis_context.NewKurtosisContextFromLocalEngine()
 	}