Parent Guide · Module I

For the parent of a Wright learner. Read this before your child finishes Module 1.

What your child should produce by the end of Module 1

One paragraph, 100 to 150 words, saved as idea_brief.md.

The paragraph names one real person, describes a specific painful moment that real person had, names the bad workaround they currently use, and ends with one sentence about what your child might build. The spec is in ARTIFACT_SPEC.md if you want to see it.

That paragraph is what you inspect.

The 5 things you look for

When your child brings you the brief, read it and check these five things.

1. Is there a real person in there with a first name and an age?

A "real person" is someone you could ask your child about right now. "What's Sarah's last name? When did you last see her?" If they answer easily, the person is real. If they fumble ("Sarah is just kind of an example"), the person is hypothetical and the brief fails.

2. Is the painful moment specific enough that you can picture it?

Read the moment-of-pain sentence. Can you see it in your head? "Sarah was scrubbing through CapCut for two hours on Saturday" → you can see it. "Sarah is frustrated by editing tools" → you cannot. The brief needs you to be able to see it.

3. Does the brief name a concrete tool the person uses today?

A specific tool, app, or workaround. "CapCut and a Google Doc" is concrete. "Various apps" is not. Concrete tools signal your child watched the real workflow.

4. Is the v1 small enough to build in 4 weekends?

The "what I might build" sentence at the end has to be small. If it includes the words "platform," "ecosystem," "AI-powered," or "users," or if it has multiple features stacked, it's a v3 not a v1. Push back: "Could you build this in 4 weekends? If not, what's the dumbest, smallest version?"

5. Can your child defend the brief if you ask "how do you know that's a real problem for [the person]"?

This is the killer question. If they can answer with a specific moment they watched, the brief is grounded. If they say "I just think it would be useful," the brief is fiction and they need to go back to Lesson 2 and watch.

Conversation starters for the kitchen table

Pick one of these. Don't pepper your child with all five. One question, then listen.

• "Who is the person in your brief? Tell me about them like you're describing them to a friend who doesn't know them."
• "When did you actually watch them have this problem? Tell me the moment."
• "If you handed them your v1 next Saturday, what would they do with it?"
• "What's the smallest version of this that would still solve the painful part?"
• "Why doesn't [the existing tool they use] work for them?"

Common pitfalls (and what to do)

Pitfall 1 — Your child named a category, not a person.

What it sounds like: "I'm building an app for kids who like to draw."

What to say: "I see a category. I don't see a person. Can you name one specific kid you know who likes to draw? Use their actual name."

If they can't, they're not done with Lesson 1. Send them back.

Pitfall 2 — The "person" is fictional.

What it sounds like: "Sarah is a high school student who likes Instagram." (You ask: "Who is Sarah?" They say: "She's just an example.")

What to say: "Examples don't work. We need a real human. Open your contacts. Find someone you actually know who matches what you described. Restart with them."

Pitfall 3 — The painful moment is generic.

What it sounds like: "She gets frustrated when editing." (No specifics: when, where, how, what app.)

What to say: "When did you see her get frustrated? Walk me through that exact moment."

If they can't, they haven't done Lesson 2's watching exercise. Send them back to Lesson 2.

Pitfall 4 — The v1 is too big.

What it sounds like: "My v1 is an AI-powered platform that handles video editing, social scheduling, analytics, and a community forum."

What to say: "That's not a v1. That's a five-year roadmap. What is the single smallest piece of this that would make Sarah say 'oh, this saves me time'?"

Pitfall 5 — Your child wants to skip to building.

What it sounds like: "Can I just start building? I have it in my head."

What to say: "Coach Lin in Module 2 is going to make us lock the offer first. The brief is what Coach Lin reads. Without a real brief, Lin can't help. Stay here."

The whole point of Module 1 is to NOT skip this step. Every learner wants to skip it. The ones who skip it have to come back to it in Module 6.

What you do NOT do

Do not write the brief. Even one sentence. The skill being learned is to think clearly about a real person. If you write the brief, your child doesn't learn the skill.

Do not pick the customer for them. If you say "you should build something for your cousin Maya," you've taken away the choosing, which is where most of the thinking happens.

Do not pre-research their candidate market for them. If they're thinking about building something for skateboarders, do not Google skateboarding apps and bring them findings. Their Module 1 Coach prompt teaches them to do their own customer research. Let them.

Do not optimize the v1 for them. "Actually, you should build it in React Native" or "You should use Stripe Connect" — these are Module 3 conversations. Module 1 is not about technology. Don't pollute it.

When to email admissions@wright.school

• Your child has been on the same lesson for more than 5 days.
• Coach Reya is misbehaving (writing the brief for them, praising them, using exclamation points, getting confused).
• Your child wants to skip Module 1 and move to Module 2.
• You think the candidate idea is bad and you're not sure if you should say so.

For that last one — generally don't intervene. The Module 1 process is designed to filter bad ideas. Trust the process for one full pass. If after Coach Reya the brief is still weak, that's the time to push.

— Ibrahim Founder, Wright wright.school