diff --git a/lib/h.js b/lib/h.js
index b91eeeac2..276768794 100644
--- a/lib/h.js
+++ b/lib/h.js
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ const flatten = require('lodash.flattendeep');
 const VNode = require('./vnode');
 
 module.exports = (component, props, ...children) => {
+	if (typeof component !== 'function' && typeof component !== 'string') {
+		throw new TypeError(`Expected component to be a function, but received ${typeof component}. You may have forgotten to export a component.`);
+	}
+
 	props = props || {};
 
 	const readyChildren = [];
diff --git a/test/h.js b/test/h.js
index 685350097..5deeb4066 100644
--- a/test/h.js
+++ b/test/h.js
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@ import test from 'ava';
 import VNode from '../lib/vnode';
 import {h} from '..';
 
+test('throws on missing component', t => {
+	t.throws(() => h(), 'Expected component to be a function, but received undefined. You may have forgotten to export a component.');
+});
+
 test('return a VNode', t => {
 	const node = h('a');