# Amir Hanna

> Amir Hanna is the Egyptian-Canadian engineer and founder leading Parrot, a Y Combinator F25 language-learning company built around native short-form video and comprehensible input. After studying mechanical engineering at the University of British Columbia and working at Shell, he built Parrot on nights and weekends with Erik Dahl and Julia Hudea, personally publishing 627 videos while learning distribution in public. Parrot now presents Spanish practice as a familiar feed, with interactive transcripts, saved vocabulary, repetition and progress tools designed to turn habitual scrolling into useful listening time.

- **Role:** CEO and co-founder at Parrot
- **Organizations:** Parrot, Y Combinator, Shell, Harvest Builders, University of British Columbia, Flora
- **Nationality:** Egyptian-Canadian
- **Education:** Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Fall 2025 batch, Y Combinator
- **Known for:** Co-founded Parrot, an active Y Combinator Fall 2025 company., Won first place among 577 participants in Microsoft's 2020 Discover AI Smart Cities track for Flora, according to his LinkedIn profile., Received a C$9,000 UBC AMS Sustainability Project Fund grant for Flora, according to his LinkedIn profile.

## Career timeline

- **2020** — Flora received a C$9,000 AMS Sustainability Project Fund grant and won first place in Microsoft's Discover AI Smart Cities track, according to Hanna's LinkedIn profile.
- **2022** — Hanna announced a 15-month role with Shell's mechanical engineering team in Alberta after working with Harvest Builders.
- **2024** — Co-founded Parrot with Erik Dahl and Julia Hudea after the trio met through a University of British Columbia entrepreneurship class.
- **2025-03** — Parrot launched its paid subscription while bootstrapped, according to Hanna.
- **2025-07** — Left Shell to work on Parrot full time, as described by collaborator Oliver Manilow.
- **2025-09** — Parrot joined Y Combinator's Fall 2025 batch and relocated to San Francisco.
- **2026-06** — Published a Parrot guide about learning Spanish through meaningful exposure rather than textbook-style presentation.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Parrot, an active Y Combinator Fall 2025 company.
- Won first place among 577 participants in Microsoft's 2020 Discover AI Smart Cities track for Flora, according to his LinkedIn profile.
- Received a C$9,000 UBC AMS Sustainability Project Fund grant for Flora, according to his LinkedIn profile.
- Personally created and posted 627 short-form videos for Parrot while still employed full time at Shell.
- Reported that Parrot reached more than 200,000 downloads and 94.6 million online views after his 100-day content experiment.
- Reported that Parrot reached $79,000 monthly recurring revenue in 8.5 months after launching subscriptions.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Published a Parrot blog guide on learning Spanish without conventional lesson formats.
- **2026-06** — Shared the case of a Parrot user with a 208-day streak, 88 hours of Spanish listening and more than 12,000 saved words.
- **2026-02** — Shared that his personal 627-video experiment had helped Parrot generate 94.6 million online views and more than 200,000 downloads.
- **2025-12** — Reported $79,000 in monthly recurring revenue, 7,300 customers and 3,000 active trials 8.5 months after the subscription launch.
- **2025-09** — Announced Parrot's acceptance into Y Combinator F25 and the team's relocation to San Francisco.

## Links

- Website: https://www.amirhanna.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirhanna1/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/byAmirHanna
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amirhanna.jpeg/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/amir-hanna
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-28