So, what does KYC mean? I always hated that thing, mostly because I feelt it is an unnecesary leak of information.
KYC/AML is really needed especially if you are starting a company that offers innovation and if you want to improve your services and if you want to have a solid statics and data system. You said that you need to know the CEO of the company before letting them know your personal information but it's not the thing you have to base. You have to know the whole team and what they really do. If you really wanted to try to invest with them then you have to try your best to reach them and talk with them verbally.
OP, please check this the remediation of having KYC/AML. :
https://complyadvantage.com/knowledgebase/kyc/kyc-remediation/I agree here. I believe that KYC and AML is innovative and compliant with the different governments and playing safe. I am blown away by the innovation of the companies that are able to help with the tracking and tracing as well. The recent CipherTrace and Binance partnership really solidified that for me