Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, once said &quot;control your destiny, or somebody else will.&quot;  Yep.  Sounds about right.<p>Irrespective of what you ultimately decide to do, I would advise that you be upfront and candid about it, because you are not doing anything wrong.  Rather than apply and hope that you slip under the radar, be firm but polite:<p>&quot;After further reflection and consideration, we have decided that the best course of action for us this point is to pursue an application to YC.  We are very excited about the prospect and look forward to continuing our collaboration under the YC umbrella!! :D&quot;<p>Note the mandatory smiley to soften the message.  I&#x27;m being facetious here, because there is no softening necessary.<p>You are not saying you wish to terminate your relationship with your partners, your relationship with your partners has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not you apply to YC.