- Even now, EU regulations affect non-EU companies. No way to avoid the "cookie law" if you want to serve EU customers.
- The list of regulations that affect startups, especially in the web/software space is rather small. The impact of regulation on the startup scene in Europe is almost zero.
The UK will not end up following EU regulations, because the government has a clear instruction from the electorate not to compromise on the immigration issue. The EU will either compromise (unlikely), or face further exits in the coming years, because the UK is merely more democratically responsive than most other countries, not significantly different.
Complete and utter nonsense.
If you're planning on establishing a start-up in the UK/Europe, and you believe this to be the case, you need a lawyer to give you a reality check sharpish.
One exception may be employment law, but that's not made by the EU and generally, once you figure it out for your first employee, it becomes much easier for any 1+n.