Women on the Rise Focus, passion and lots of drive--that's what our woman of the year is made of.

As founder of Tarte Cosmetics, a New York City company that makes portable, user-friendly products for women on the go, Maureen Kelly is in the business of making real women look and feel spectacular. Kelly regularly turns heads with her innovative packaging and products, but it is her competitiveness, clarity of vision and compassion as an entrepreneur that made our heads turn and ultimately decide to select her as the winner of this year's OPEN from American Express and Entrepreneur magazine Woman of the Year Contest.

Kelly, 34, didn't possess much more than an idea when she gave up pursuing her doctorate in psychology to launch her own line of cosmetics in 1999. Having too often fallen victim to makeup artists in department stores who would leave her beautiful but poorer and unable to recreate the look later, she knew there was a need for more down-to-earth makeup that was simple, easy to use and conveniently packaged. So despite her complete lack of experience in the industry, she went ahead full-force.

After extensive research of laboratories and chemists who could bring her vision to life, as well as numerous trips to fabric markets to find the best leather and fabrics for the packaging of her cosmetics, Kelly invested $20,000 from credit cards and savings and fearlessly went against the industry's top names. "Looking back, I realize I was entering an industry with huge competition: Este Lauder, Lancme, big companies that had millions of dollars in advertising budgets," says Kelly. "Because I was very green, I [thought], 'Why should they be able to do it, and I can't?'" Because Kelly did not shy away from competition, she has now created her own powerful presence in the industry.