Why I share my competitors’ work every day
Killer Charts
I just hit a milestone on Substack that means something to me: enough people are paying for Five Killer Charts for me to earn the coveted award of Bestseller.
Thank you to those that have supported me. I need it. It’s kept me going. I’m not raking it in, but it helps.
Killer Charts has been $8/month and $80/year since launch two years ago. From 1 December the price for new subscribers will rise to $10/month and $100/year. If you’ve been meaning to upgrade, you can lock in the old rate for life here.
But enough about that. I need to explain what Five Killer Charts actually is. That’s actually more important because it’s not what most people think.
The problem is we’re drowning in data
The world is flooded with data. Exponentially more every day. And most of it is incomprehensible noise.
We live in the most data-rich period in human history, yet people struggle to understand how the world actually works. The gap between information and understanding has never been wider.
Data visualisation bridges that gap. It’s how we communicate complex truths in a way that’s genuinely human. A great chart can make you feel something about GDP growth or climate change or market crashes in a way that a spreadsheet never will.
That’s why Five Killer Charts exists.
Why I share competitors’ work
Every day, I share five data visualisations that grabbed my attention. Charts that made me think differently or see something I’d missed.
Here’s the key bit: most of them aren’t mine.
I share work from competitors, from other creators, from journalists and analysts and designers I admire. The best of the best, regardless of who made it.
Why? Because this mission is bigger than me or any single company. If we want a world where people actually understand what’s happening around them, we need to celebrate great data visualisation wherever it comes from. We need to make it accessible, shareable, inspiring.
I want to liberate data visualisation, not hoard it.
The tool problem
For years, creating compelling visualisations required an absurd skill set. You needed to code in JavaScript or Python, or in my case, both. You needed design expertise, which most coders don’t have. You needed days or weeks per chart.
I had those skills. But it still took me forever.
Most people don’t have those skills. And they shouldn’t need them.
That’s why we built PlotSet. It’s software that gives you professional animated charts in minutes instead of days. The rise of AI finally makes this possible at scale. Yes, we also use AI on PlotSet to improve the chart maker experience.
PlotSet exists to democratise what used to be reserved for people with computer science degrees and design portfolios. It’s the practical tool for the mission: making data visualisation accessible to everyone.
The point is I want people to do what I do. I want them to live and breathe data visualisation. To be not just inspired by it, but to be able to communicate with it themselves. And this is why I created Killer Charts. I wanted to share the beauty that I see every day.
What a paid subscription means
When someone pays for Five Killer Charts, they’re backing that mission. They’re saying this approach matters – sharing the best work, building in public, focusing on clarity over complexity.
Notice I always put links below each chart so you can find exactly where it came from. That’s important for me. Otherwise what is the point of my mission if you cannot find the source of what I saw.
To everyone who subscribes: thank you. To paid subscribers specifically: you’re enabling me to keep doing this work and building tools that make data more human.
What’s next
More charts. More stories. More tools through PlotSet that put professional visualisation in more hands. I have a book as well, which explains these beliefs I have in-depth. Look for it on Amazon or Google it.
The world isn’t getting less data-rich or less confusing. But we can make it more understandable, one chart at a time.
If you’re reading this as a free subscriber and this mission resonates, consider upgrading. You get PlotSet Plus and support work that’s trying to make the world clearer for everyone.
Thanks for being part of this.
James