Venture Capital Executive and St. Louis Native Evokes Message of Reinvention
ST. LOUIS, MO / ACCESS Newswire / May 14, 2026 / A.J. Cervantes, Jr., a St. Louis native, Webster University alumnus and London-based venture capital executive, returned to Webster University today to deliver the 2026 commencement address for the School of Communications.
Cervantes, Chairman of Trilogy Capital Group, whose new book The Venture Capital Wars!: Deeply Personal Tales from the Dark Side of the American Dream, is being published next month by Authors Unite, tied the gesture to the central theme of his address: reinvention as a lifelong discipline.
“The world these graduates are entering is under construction,” Cervantes said. “My book is relevant to this theme.” Cervantes distributed 150 Webster University logo-emblazoned hard hats as a humorous but pointed symbol of the world they are entering. “The struggles about the battles behind building anything meaningful is real – and these hard hats are my way of telling them: be ready to build, be ready to fight and be ready to create your own future but be ready for the hard knocks to come.”
He reflected on his journey from a Webster student working overnight shifts as the news director at KMOX CBS Radio, to becoming National Marketing Director at Casablanca Records, his formation of the international label Butterfly Records, to his founding multiple entertainment and technology ventures. “Your life will not have just one arc. It will have many. And you will write them yourself, often without realizing you’ve begun a new act.”
He shared stories from his decades in music, film, venture capital and AI, including taking his first company public in 1983, Mediacom Filmworks, and now building Cyber A.I. Group, a London-based global enterprise focused on advanced cybersecurity. He also shared the first public announcement of the formation TriCoast Advanced Technology Studios, an international AI-driven film studio capable of producing and distributing up to 100 feature films annually.
He closed with a message of authorship and courage: “Keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive not by starting a company, but by refusing to let your story be written by anyone but you!”
Holding up one of the hard hats, he ended with his favorite quote: “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”
About A.J. Cervantes, Jr.
A.J. Cervantes, Jr. is the founder and Chairman of Trilogy Capital Group, LLC, a private equity and venture capital firm. He is also Chairman of Cyber A.I. Group, Inc., a London-based global enterprise focused on advanced AI-driven cybersecurity services. With a career spanning over 35 years as an executive in numerous diversified businesses, Mr. Cervantes has accumulated extensive knowledge and experience ranging from corporate finance, broadcast, music production, entertainment, emerging growth companies, buy-and-build strategies to leading ventures in fields as diverse as international staffing and nutraceuticals to Artificial Intelligence and AI feature film production. He is a recognized leader in the small-cap space with deep experience in corporate finance, strategic planning and alternative public offerings. Mr. Cervantes is a graduate of Webster University with a degree in Communications.
Media Contact:
Trilogy Capital Group, LLC
Jessica Walters
Executive Vice President
jessica.walters@trilogy-capital.com
786.749.1221
SOURCE: Trilogy Capital Group
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