diff --git a/examples/nvme/hello_world/hello_world.c b/examples/nvme/hello_world/hello_world.c
index 9baf52840..7fcdad91b 100644
--- a/examples/nvme/hello_world/hello_world.c
+++ b/examples/nvme/hello_world/hello_world.c
@@ -334,6 +334,12 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 		return 1;
 	}
 
+	if (g_controllers == NULL) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "no NVMe controllers found\n");
+		cleanup();
+		return 1;
+	}
+
 	printf("Initialization complete.\n");
 	hello_world();
 	cleanup();