How to use apps in '/opt' in a proper way? : Noobie question, but important to me:

0. I'm using `Ubuntu 14.04 LTS`
1. Time to time I copy some app (like `xxx`) to the `/opt` folder to be 
used also by another user-accounts;
2. Then to start it I use: 

> sudo /opt/xxx_folder/xxx

(of course, links to /usr/local/bin or /usr/bin, etc.) to start it;

**Problem:** I'm storing the results/projects of the app to my local folder ( like `/home/myuser/xxx_data`). And of course the folder and it's data `xxx_data` belongs to `root` (not `myuser`). So I have to change the owner every time I want to edit those files using another app not as a root.

**Question:** is there a way to install an app `xxx` to `/opt` so, that I don't need to start them as a root?

**OR** maybe you see another way to solve this 'root-user-problem?'