In May 1929, 270 people attended the first ever Academy Awards. The cost was $5 per person and the awards lasted approximately 15 minutes. Nothing was broadcast to outside audiences and everyone knew who won before they arrived since the award winners were announced 3 months earlier. My, how things have changed! Even though the glitz and glamour may have been missing from that first awards ceremony, there were many film industry pioneers in attendance as well as many that had not yet become famous. Imagine sitting next to Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin, or the Warner Brothers.

Today, the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, has approximately 3400 in attendance and close to 30-40 million tuning in across the world. It costs $150 – $750 per ticket and the event could last as long as 220 minutes (3.5+ hours). It is broadcast worldwide with the nominees not knowing until that night who won. The goodie bags given at the banquet contain approximately $148,000 worth of gifts and the average
amount spent on attire for an A-list actress is $10M!

Just like the Oscars, every idea has to start somewhere. Only by being brave enough to try are we ever able to move a small idea into one that has an ever growing impact on humanity. If you have an idea, you never know what it might grow into, but if you never act on it, it will forever remain … just an idea.