diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 4601c970c..05d1889f0 100755
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ build-linux:
 	GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 $(MAKE) build
 
 # Run a 4-node testnet locally
-localnet-start:
+localnet-start: localnet-stop
 	@if ! [ -f build/node0/config/genesis.json ]; then docker run --rm -v $(CURDIR)/build:/tendermint:Z tendermint/localnode testnet --v 4 --o . --populate-persistent-peers --starting-ip-address 192.167.10.2 ; fi
 	docker-compose up