The Business of Quantum: Lessons from Prince George's County

On September 10, the Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation (PGCEDC) filled the Innovation Station Business Incubator in Largo, Maryland, with business owners, contractors, educators, and state partners for The Business of Quantum. I was there with my camera. I left with a notebook full of something more valuable: a clear picture of where quantum computing is headed and the gap that will decide who benefits from it.

That gap is not only technical. It is a communication gap. Every speaker named it in their own way.

Why is Prince George's County called the Capital of Quantum?

Short answer: Prince George's County has the research base, the companies, and the public commitment. The University of Maryland in College Park anchors the science. IonQ is scaling here, and IBM, Microsoft, IQM, and Quantum Motion are active in the region. Maryland's Capital of Quantum initiative and Quantum World Congress 2026 in College Park put the county at the center of the conversation.

County Executive Aisha Braveboy set the tone. She asked for quantum to be explained "like Sesame Street," then made the stakes plain: the strategic decisions made now will determine who leads and who follows. "This is ground zero," she told the room. PGCEDC President and CEO Ingrid Watson framed the morning as the first of many conversations, and Sam Braden, PGCEDC's Business Development Manager for the IT sector, led the program with a single promise: you do not need a PhD or even a four-year degree to be part of this industry.

Do you need a PhD to work in quantum?

Short answer: No. The quantum industry needs technicians, engineers, trades such as HVAC and electrical, accountants, attorneys, salespeople, marketers, and designers. Researchers are one part of a much larger ecosystem, and the ecosystem is short on people.

Dr. Malcolm Tyson, Managing Director at Strat Ascension, shared a story that stayed with me. At an open house for a quantum organization in College Park, he watched PhDs screwing in bolts and soldering parts. That tells you there are not enough people in the industry to do the work that does not require a doctorate. It also tells you where the openings are.

"You don't have to build the technology to be a part of the industry. I don't think anyone in here built the internet."

Dr. Malcolm Tyson, Strat Ascension

How can a small business get into the quantum industry?

Short answer: Use Dr. Tyson's three-step framework: learn the fundamentals, map your core competencies to what quantum companies need, and engage the people already building the ecosystem. Start with the problem you solve, not the product you sell.

His advice to founders was simple and demanding. Lock in on the problem. Assess what you already do well. Find the adjacency. Then build relationships now, because the market and the technology are being built at the same time. His closing challenge: connect with someone you do not know and follow up within 30 days.

What is quantum computing, in plain language?

Short answer: Quantum computing processes information using the properties of quantum mechanics: superposition, entanglement, and interference. A quantum computer is not a faster classical computer. It is a different tool for problems classical computers cannot solve efficiently, such as molecular simulation and complex optimization.

Emeka Onodugo, a business development executive at IBM, gave the clearest analogy of the day. A car gets you to the mall, the office, and the movies. It cannot cross an ocean. For that you need a plane. Quantum is the plane. You will not use it to go to the mall, and it will not replace the car.

He walked the room through IBM's roadmap and the use cases that matter to business:

• Materials science: longer-lasting batteries and lighter, more fuel-efficient aircraft materials.

• Drug discovery: simulation in place of slow trial and error.

• Optimization: portfolios, logistics, and supply chains with many variables.

• Financial modeling: IBM reported that work with HSBC using quantum machine learning improved bond-trade prediction by 34 percent.

IBM expects quantum advantage, where a quantum computer does something cheaper, faster, or better than a classical one, to arrive in 2026, and its first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029. Anyone can try a real quantum computer today through IBM's free plan at quantum.ibm.com, which includes monthly runtime and training with shareable badges.

What does quantum-ready mean for organizations?

Short answer: Future quantum computers are expected to break the encryption most organizations use today. Bad actors can harvest encrypted data now and decrypt it later. Being quantum-ready means finding where current cryptography lives and moving to NIST's post-quantum algorithms before that day comes.

This was the sharpest exchange of the Q&A. An attendee who works in post-quantum technology named it directly: there is an awareness gap, and organizations holding sensitive data do not know what is coming. The panel compared the transition to Y2K. The deadline is known, and the work cannot be done overnight.

Three gaps, one pattern

As a storyteller, I listen for the problem underneath the problem. By the end of the morning, three gaps stood out, and every one of them is a communication gap.

The commercialization gap

What I heard: Brilliant researchers create remarkable inventions but are not business people. Dr. Tyson said they need attorneys, accountants, salespeople, and marketing people around them.

What closes it: Founder stories, capability videos, and investor-ready narratives that turn research into something a buyer understands.

The awareness gap

What I heard: IBM's answer to "what does the industry need now?" was people who can evangelize the opportunity. Post-quantum risk is still invisible to most leaders.

What closes it: Explainer content, event coverage, and executive briefings that make an abstract risk concrete.

The workforce gap

What I heard: The county wants quantum concepts in schools and trade pathways. One attendee asked about animating PGCEDC's quantum comic book because visual learners absorb more from video than from a lecture.

What closes it: Visual learning: short video, animation, and AI-assisted training courses that meet students and career changers where they are.

That visual learning question was the moment the room leaned in. PGCEDC has already built something smart. Its Quantum Core Insights series turns five themes (economy, commercialization, supply chain, workforce, and the future) into a comic book, with a superhero named Superposition. The marketing team has narrated it with Sam's voice and AI character voices, and they are moving toward more video. That is exactly the right instinct. Complex science earns attention when people can see it.

"Are you defining quantum as a skill that has to be learned, or as a concept that has to be understood?"

Attendee and former teacher, during Q&A

Sam's answer was both. I agree, and I would add one thing: before anyone learns the skill, someone has to make them care about the concept. That is the work of storytelling.

Who benefits from quantum?

One attendee asked the question I think every economic development conversation should face. With this much money flowing in, how do we make sure quantum helps our communities and does not become one more tool for those who already have the most? Sam's answer pointed to the room itself: have these conversations early, before the billions arrive, and build the pipeline through our schools. PGCEDC's focus on growing the commercial tax base and bringing high-paying jobs to the county is part of that answer.

I see it the same way. The communities that are told the story early are the communities that get a seat at the table. That is why who tells the story matters as much as the science.

What this means for CAG

CAG Multimedia & Productions exists to help organizations document impact, tell meaningful stories, and build public trust. We are not a quantum company. We are part of the ecosystem Dr. Tyson described: the partners who surround innovators so their work can be understood, funded, and adopted.

For quantum and emerging technology organizations in the DMV, that looks like:

• Founder and capability videos that translate research into a clear value proposition for investors, partners, and government buyers.

• Event documentation that extends the life of convenings like The Business of Quantum and Quantum World Congress.

• Explainer and awareness content on topics such as quantum readiness, built for executives, not physicists.

• Workforce and education content, including AI avatar training courses, that turn comics, curricula, and career pathways into lessons students will actually watch.

Quantum is not coming. As Sam put it, it is already here. The science is advancing on a published roadmap. The question now is whether the people of Prince George's County, its small businesses, its students, and its future workforce, will understand it in time to take part. I intend to help make sure they do.

Going to Quantum World Congress 2026?

Quantum World Congress runs September 23 to 25 at The Hotel at the University of Maryland in College Park. If you are building in quantum or emerging technology and need your story told clearly, let's connect there or before.

Book a strategy conversation with CAG Media

Frequently asked questions

What was The Business of Quantum event?

An information session hosted by the Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation on September 10, 2026, at the Innovation Station Business Incubator in Largo, Maryland. It helped small businesses and contractors understand how quantum technology relates to their operations ahead of Quantum World Congress 2026.

Do you need a PhD to work in the quantum industry?

No. The industry needs technicians, engineers, skilled trades, accountants, attorneys, salespeople, marketers, and designers. A PhD is one path, not a requirement.

How can a small business get into the quantum industry?

Learn the fundamentals, map your core competencies to what quantum companies need, and engage the people already in the ecosystem. You do not have to build the technology to be part of the industry.

When is quantum advantage expected?

IBM expects quantum advantage in 2026 and its first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029.

Why does the quantum industry need media and storytelling partners?

Quantum faces commercialization, awareness, and workforce gaps. Each one is a communication problem that clear video, visual storytelling, and training content help close.

From Left: Dr. Malcom Tyson, Managing Director, Strat Ascension; Sam Braden IV, Director of Business Development- Information Technology & Cyber Security

County Executive Aisha Braveboy

Emeka Onodugo Business Development Executive at IBM and an IBM Quantum Ambassador

Dr. Malcom Tyson, Managing Director, StratAscension

From Left: Sam Braden IV, Director of Business Development—Information Technology & Cyber Security; Christopher Gibbon Visionary Founder & Creative Director of CAG Multimedia & Production LLC.