While most office employees gather around the water cooler, we prefer our libations to be of the unleaded and premium petrol variety. ”The Pump” is our weekly look at a key member of the Fueled Collective, Fueled’s new shared work space just south of Houston in New York City.

Adam Podolnick created a website – and a business – in 37 days. The new site, SproutVideo provides small-business clients with the means to store, market and brand their videos online. In the fast-changing world of video hosting, SproutVideo makes video hosting easy and affordable.

Before launching SproutVideo, Podolnick worked for Motionbox, a video-hosting company that offered free and premium accounts.  In 2010, they announced they were being acquired by HP-Snapfish, a photo-sharing service. While the accounts of the free and premium customers transferred over, the commercial users would not. Seeing a need and an opportunity, Podolnick envisioned a better video-hosting resource for those abandoned Pro clients.

“I wanted those customers to have a continuation of service and not lose their videos. In a little over a month I built a basic version of the site and it’s been growing ever since,” Podolnick said.

While many liken SproutVideo to a YouTube for small and medium sized businesses, key differences include full user engagement with a video and without distracting ads or competing content. There are no ads, no sponsored videos or other people’s videos showing up after your video is finished playing. “Your brand, your video, nothing else,” is Podolnick’s mantra.

In addition, clicking on a video does not take viewers to a different site like YouTube and Vimeo. “You lose some of your branding by posting your videos on hosting sites like YouTube.” SproutVideo also offers the ability to host commercial content that isn’t allowed on YouTube or Vimeo.

SproutVideo offers in-depth analytics including graphically displayed data on viewing frequency and completion rates. Other considerations include privacy options, domain whitelisting, HD quality playback, playlists and even customizable post-play screens. “The biggest difference between SproutVideo and others is the quantity and quality of viewer tracking information,” said Podolnick.

SproutVideo gives companies the option to apply access controls on their videos. In order to view the video, the viewer will be asked to enter an email address resulting in a powerful database of viewers and the ability to better understand – and connect with – a company’s consumers.

Companies such as Comcast, United Way, HP and Parse use SproutVideo for internal training. Because of SproutVideo’s back-end analytics, the company knows who has completed their training and watched the video all the way through.

Interested companies can try out SproutVideo for free. Depending on storage space, bandwidth and analytics requirements, a client has five pricing options starting at just $10 a month.

Originally from Long Island, Podolnick found it important to be in a place with a broader worldview. After working from home for several months, Podolnick moved his business inside the Fueled Collective workspace in Soho, New York City.

Right now Podolnick is focusing on providing the needs of on-demand video for small businesses. “Ten years ago a website was a prerequisite for any business.  Today, if you aren’t fully leveraging the capabilities of video, you’re way behind the power curve.”

SproutVideo will soon be offering pay-per-view and subscription services, including registration and payment options. For Podolnick the future includes providing customers with the ability to fully customize a web site for their videos.

For a successful web site to sprout into a company in just a few weeks, Podolnick has a lot of advice for entrepreneurs who want to start their company today. His main suggestion: Don’t give up. “It takes a while to get there. Talk to as many people as you can. Get different perspectives. Find your solution, because it’s out there.”

Image via Shutterstock