Steff Vera

Background

About Steff Vera

I love creating inclusivity culture for the unique and developing the exclusivity of an item that they cannot live without. I have been told that my conversations have a way of making the person’s interests feel special, and that’s because well- I do think their interests are special! Originally born and raised in Texas, living there I always felt ~different~. I made the jump to California to work at Hot Topic Inc. HQ in 2022 and being here has fully ignited my passion to cater to clients on things they feel they cannot live without. Since beginning at Hot Topic Inc. in 2021, I have moved up the company ladder from Part Time Sales Associate to Assistant Buyer within 4 years, even moving across state lines. I began at Hot Topic stores first in 2021 after I complimented a person’s anime bag in front of me and she introduced me to her store manager the next day. Although I was offered a part time job at Hot Topic, I was still working full time in an industry that did not have as much color as well as over-night nannying a 7 year old. I ultimately decided to take the part time role at HT as I thought it could bring some joy into my mundane work life. After a few months of balancing the 3, I realized the Hot Topic culture is what I wanted to contribute my time to. I left my Accounts Receivable job and continued to nanny. As I worked at the stores, I found this love for the customers and what they wanted. One day in the spring of 2022, a customer came in and we had the usual HT experience of getting to know one another but as it turns out, this customer was a vendor that worked with the HT already. I asked a few pointers to continue to grow my career and he mentioned to speak internally and externally. I went the internal route of speaking to my District Manager who got me in contact with a Buyer and on my own time I created trend reports to showcase my treasures to Buyers STATES away. Companies like Hot Topic have a very dear place in my heart. Companies like this make their customers feel seen and I strive to bring our customers what they’re looking for as they aren’t seeing what they want in the market. One of my favorite movie quotes sums my thoughts up best:"We're all different (…) But there's something kind of fantastic about that, isn't there?"-Fantastic Mr. Fox 2009