diff --git a/allgroup.go b/allgroup.go
index d107a7a..1ecb7b2 100644
--- a/allgroup.go
+++ b/allgroup.go
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ type AllGroup struct {
 
 // Start is a blocking operation which will loop and attempt to find new
 // shards on a regular cadence.
-func (g *AllGroup) Start(ctx context.Context, shardc chan types.Shard) {
+func (g *AllGroup) Start(ctx context.Context, shardc chan types.Shard) error {
 	// Note: while ticker is a rather naive approach to this problem,
 	// it actually simplifies a few things. i.e. If we miss a new shard
 	// while AWS is resharding we'll pick it up max 30 seconds later.
@@ -51,12 +51,16 @@ func (g *AllGroup) Start(ctx context.Context, shardc chan types.Shard) {
 	var ticker = time.NewTicker(30 * time.Second)
 
 	for {
-		g.findNewShards(ctx, shardc)
+		err := g.findNewShards(ctx, shardc)
+		if err != nil {
+			ticker.Stop()
+			return err
+		}
 
 		select {
 		case <-ctx.Done():
 			ticker.Stop()
-			return
+			return nil
 		case <-ticker.C:
 		}
 	}
@@ -91,7 +95,7 @@ func waitForCloseChannel(ctx context.Context, c <-chan struct{}) bool {
 // findNewShards pulls the list of shards from the Kinesis API
 // and uses a local cache to determine if we are already processing
 // a particular shard.
-func (g *AllGroup) findNewShards(ctx context.Context, shardc chan types.Shard) {
+func (g *AllGroup) findNewShards(ctx context.Context, shardc chan types.Shard) error {
 	g.shardMu.Lock()
 	defer g.shardMu.Unlock()
 
@@ -100,7 +104,7 @@ func (g *AllGroup) findNewShards(ctx context.Context, shardc chan types.Shard) {
 	shards, err := listShards(ctx, g.ksis, g.streamName)
 	if err != nil {
 		g.logger.Log("[GROUP] error:", err)
-		return
+		return err
 	}
 
 	// We do two `for` loops, since we have to set up all the `shardClosed`
@@ -134,4 +138,5 @@ func (g *AllGroup) findNewShards(ctx context.Context, shardc chan types.Shard) {
 			}
 		}()
 	}
+	return nil
 }
diff --git a/consumer.go b/consumer.go
index 8afb270..80ab45c 100644
--- a/consumer.go
+++ b/consumer.go
@@ -107,7 +107,11 @@ func (c *Consumer) Scan(ctx context.Context, fn ScanFunc) error {
 	)
 
 	go func() {
-		c.group.Start(ctx, shardc)
+		err := c.group.Start(ctx, shardc)
+		if err != nil {
+			errc <- fmt.Errorf("error starting scan: %w", err)
+			cancel()
+		}
 		<-ctx.Done()
 		close(shardc)
 	}()
@@ -284,7 +288,10 @@ func (c *Consumer) getShardIterator(ctx context.Context, streamName, shardID, se
 	}
 
 	res, err := c.client.GetShardIterator(ctx, params)
-	return res.ShardIterator, err
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return res.ShardIterator, nil
 }
 
 func isRetriableError(err error) bool {
diff --git a/consumer_test.go b/consumer_test.go
index 13cfb04..d14b11e 100644
--- a/consumer_test.go
+++ b/consumer_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package consumer
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"math/rand"
 	"sync"
@@ -110,6 +111,71 @@ func TestScan(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestScan_ListShardsError(t *testing.T) {
+	mockError := errors.New("mock list shards error")
+	client := &kinesisClientMock{
+		listShardsMock: func(ctx context.Context, params *kinesis.ListShardsInput, optFns ...func(*kinesis.Options)) (*kinesis.ListShardsOutput, error) {
+			return nil, mockError
+		},
+	}
+
+	// use cancel func to signal shutdown
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), time.Second*5)
+
+	var res string
+	var fn = func(r *Record) error {
+		res += string(r.Data)
+		cancel() // simulate cancellation while processing first record
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	c, err := New("myStreamName", WithClient(client))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("new consumer error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	err = c.Scan(ctx, fn)
+	if !errors.Is(err, mockError) {
+		t.Errorf("expected an error from listShards, but instead got %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestScan_GetShardIteratorError(t *testing.T) {
+	mockError := errors.New("mock get shard iterator error")
+	client := &kinesisClientMock{
+		listShardsMock: func(ctx context.Context, params *kinesis.ListShardsInput, optFns ...func(*kinesis.Options)) (*kinesis.ListShardsOutput, error) {
+			return &kinesis.ListShardsOutput{
+				Shards: []types.Shard{
+					{ShardId: aws.String("myShard")},
+				},
+			}, nil
+		},
+		getShardIteratorMock: func(ctx context.Context, params *kinesis.GetShardIteratorInput, optFns ...func(*kinesis.Options)) (*kinesis.GetShardIteratorOutput, error) {
+			return nil, mockError
+		},
+	}
+
+	// use cancel func to signal shutdown
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), time.Second*5)
+
+	var res string
+	var fn = func(r *Record) error {
+		res += string(r.Data)
+		cancel() // simulate cancellation while processing first record
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	c, err := New("myStreamName", WithClient(client))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("new consumer error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	err = c.Scan(ctx, fn)
+	if !errors.Is(err, mockError) {
+		t.Errorf("expected an error from getShardIterator, but instead got %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestScanShard(t *testing.T) {
 	var client = &kinesisClientMock{
 		getShardIteratorMock: func(ctx context.Context, params *kinesis.GetShardIteratorInput, optFns ...func(*kinesis.Options)) (*kinesis.GetShardIteratorOutput, error) {
diff --git a/group.go b/group.go
index 5856f24..29647d9 100644
--- a/group.go
+++ b/group.go
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import (
 
 // Group interface used to manage which shard to process
 type Group interface {
-	Start(ctx context.Context, shardc chan types.Shard)
+	Start(ctx context.Context, shardc chan types.Shard) error
 	GetCheckpoint(streamName, shardID string) (string, error)
 	SetCheckpoint(streamName, shardID, sequenceNumber string) error
 }