diff --git a/radicle-cli/examples/rad-node.md b/radicle-cli/examples/rad-node.md
index 5934f70e..218c0027 100644
--- a/radicle-cli/examples/rad-node.md
+++ b/radicle-cli/examples/rad-node.md
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ issue the `rad node stop` command:
 
 ```
 $ rad node stop
-✓ Stopping node...
+✓ Node stopped
 ```
 
 Running the command again gives us an error:
diff --git a/radicle-cli/src/commands/node.rs b/radicle-cli/src/commands/node.rs
index a876aea7..4180f79b 100644
--- a/radicle-cli/src/commands/node.rs
+++ b/radicle-cli/src/commands/node.rs
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ pub const HELP: Help = Help {
 Usage
 
     rad node status [<option>...]
-    rad node start [--foreground] [<option>...] [-- <node-option>...]
+    rad node start [--foreground] [--verbose] [<option>...] [-- <node-option>...]
     rad node stop [<option>...]
     rad node logs [-n <lines>]
     rad node connect <nid>@<addr> [<option>...]
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ Usage
 Start options
 
     --foreground         Start the node in the foreground
+    --verbose, -v        Verbose output
 
 Routing options
 
@@ -83,6 +84,7 @@ pub enum Operation {
     },
     Start {
         foreground: bool,
+        verbose: bool,
         options: Vec<OsString>,
     },
     Logs {
@@ -133,6 +135,7 @@ impl Args for Options {
         let mut lines: usize = 10;
         let mut count: usize = usize::MAX;
         let mut timeout = time::Duration::MAX;
+        let mut verbose = false;
 
         while let Some(arg) = parser.next()? {
             match arg {
@@ -183,6 +186,9 @@ impl Args for Options {
                 Long("foreground") if matches!(op, Some(OperationName::Start)) => {
                     foreground = true;
                 }
+                Long("verbose") | Short('v') if matches!(op, Some(OperationName::Start)) => {
+                    verbose = true;
+                }
                 Short('n') if matches!(op, Some(OperationName::Logs)) => {
                     lines = parser.value()?.parse()?;
                 }
@@ -205,6 +211,7 @@ impl Args for Options {
             OperationName::Logs => Operation::Logs { lines },
             OperationName::Start => Operation::Start {
                 foreground,
+                verbose,
                 options,
             },
             OperationName::Status => Operation::Status,
@@ -244,8 +251,9 @@ pub fn run(options: Options, ctx: impl term::Context) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         Operation::Start {
             foreground,
             options,
+            verbose,
         } => {
-            control::start(node, !foreground, options, &profile)?;
+            control::start(node, !foreground, verbose, options, &profile)?;
         }
         Operation::Status => {
             control::status(&node, &profile)?;
diff --git a/radicle-cli/src/commands/node/control.rs b/radicle-cli/src/commands/node/control.rs
index 62d4103f..b5c2b538 100644
--- a/radicle-cli/src/commands/node/control.rs
+++ b/radicle-cli/src/commands/node/control.rs
@@ -14,9 +14,13 @@ use radicle::{profile, Profile};
 use crate::terminal as term;
 use crate::terminal::Element as _;
 
+/// How long to wait for the node to start before returning an error.
+pub const NODE_START_TIMEOUT: time::Duration = time::Duration::from_secs(6);
+
 pub fn start(
     node: Node,
     daemon: bool,
+    verbose: bool,
     mut options: Vec<OsString>,
     profile: &Profile,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
@@ -54,7 +58,30 @@ pub fn start(
             .stderr(process::Stdio::null())
             .spawn()?;
 
-        logs(0, Some(time::Duration::from_secs(1)), profile)?;
+        if verbose {
+            logs(0, Some(time::Duration::from_secs(1)), profile)?;
+        } else {
+            let started = time::Instant::now();
+            loop {
+                if node.is_running() {
+                    term::success!("Node started");
+                    term::print(term::format::dim(
+                        "To stay in sync with the network, leave the node running in the background.",
+                    ));
+                    term::info!(
+                        "{} {}{}",
+                        term::format::dim("To learn more, run"),
+                        term::format::command("rad node --help"),
+                        term::format::dim("."),
+                    );
+
+                    break;
+                } else if started.elapsed() >= NODE_START_TIMEOUT {
+                    anyhow::bail!("node failed to start. Try running in verbose mode with `rad node start --verbose`");
+                }
+                thread::sleep(time::Duration::from_millis(60));
+            }
+        }
     } else {
         let mut child = process::Command::new("radicle-node")
             .args(options)
@@ -68,10 +95,11 @@ pub fn start(
 }
 
 pub fn stop(node: Node) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    let spinner = term::spinner("Stopping node...");
+    let mut spinner = term::spinner("Stopping node...");
     if node.shutdown().is_err() {
         spinner.error("node is not running");
     } else {
+        spinner.message("Node stopped");
         spinner.finish();
     }
     Ok(())