EC/ppm meter is a must, they are cheap now, got mine for less than 10 bucks.
No... just no.
Don't tell him it's a must when it isn't.
I know tons of people who grow without them and have beautiful grows. Unless he is going Hydro which is already said he isn't he doesn't NEED it.
Also Soil is good, but I still recommend going with Roots Organic Soilless Coco Coir, I guarantee you'll have less issues with it.
LED is nice and all, if you want to save power and less heat issue. Although so far unless you're getting a super duper expensive LED, HIDs are proven to grow better.
There is really no overflow of information going on like people suggest.
HID
Soilless
Tents
Fans
It doesn't get simpler than that. I wrote a good list of what you'll need for any grow let alone your first. Take it with a grain of salt if you want, but you'll just end up spending more money along the way going super simple and finding out you're running into issues and need to buy stuff on the fly.